University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Aiming for a Sixth Crown

11/9/2022 2:17:00 PM

Kearney, Neb. – The 12th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team heads to St. Joseph, Mo., this weekend in search of its sixth MIAA Tournament title.

This year's eight-team event is being played at a neutral site – the St. Joseph Civic Arena – Thursday through Saturday. UNK (26-4), the second seed, faces hometown Missouri Western (11-17) at noon in the tourney's first match. The Griffons are on a three-match win streak that includes a four-set victory over No. 20 Washburn.

All matches can be viewed on The MIAA Network and heard on The River 93.1/106.9 KRVN FM with live stats available as well. For the bracket and more information go to the tourney webpage.

The Lopers downed Mo West on Oct. 22nd in Kearney (-23, -23, -19) while taking care of the Griffs in four sets (-23, 23-25, -15, -23) on Sept. 23rd in St. Joe. UNK is now 49-14 all-time vs. MWSU

The Lopers previously won this event in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 while also taking the 2021 MIAAA Tournament. That event was part of a non-countable spring
season that helped replace the canceled 2020 fall campaign. Last year UNK beat Central Oklahoma in a first-round match held at the Health & Sports Center before falling at top-seed Central Missouri in the semifinals.

The UNK/Mo West winner plays Friday at 5 p.m. against either Central Missouri (19-11) or Pittsburg State (16-13). Finals are set for Saturday at 6 p.m. with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the most recent Central Region Rankings, the Lopers are fifth with UCM seventh. The NCAA field will be announced Sunday at 9:30 p.m. at www.ncaa.com.

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