Lopers Top Central Region Rankings But Plenty of Work Remains

Volleyball 11/12/2025 2:00:00 PM

Lopers Top Central Region Rankings But Plenty of Work Remains

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney volleyball team is ranked first in the second edition of the NCAA Division II regional rankings.

These rankings determine the 64-team NCAA Tournament field later this month (eight teams from eight regions). National rankings have no bearings on NCAA selection, and this is the first regional rankings where teams are ranked one through eight.

The top eight seeds host regionals the weekend of Dec. 4-6 or Dec. 5-7. The Central consists of the MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf. (NSIC) and Great American Conf. (GAC). Conference tourney winners receive automatic bids to the "Big Dance."

Not only do the Lopers have a 24-3 D2 record (17-3 in-region) but they also have non-con victories over Bentley, Mass. (No. 1 in the East), Missouri-St. Louis (No. 1 Great Lakes), and East Stroudsburg, Pa. (No. 4 Atlantic). The key Central wins have come against Missouri Western (No. 3/1-0), Washburn (No. 5/1-1), Central Oklahoma (No. 8/1-0) and Central Missouri (No. 9/1-0). UNK is 0-2 vs. Emporia State (No. 7).

The Lopers previously hosted regionals in 2019 (won), 2018, 2011, 2007, 2005 (won), 2004 (won), and 1995 (won).

UNK closes out the regular season at home vs. NW Missouri (Thurs.) and Mo West (Fri.) with the eight-team MIAA Tournament set for Nov. 20-22 in St. Joseph, Mo.

		In-Region	D2 Overall Record
1	UNK	17-3	24-3
2	Wayne St.	20-2	24-3
3	Missouri Western	18-4	20-5
4	Concordia-St. Paul	18-3	22-4
5	Washburn	19-3	22-3
6	St. Cloud St.	18-3	21-6
7	Emporia St.	19-3	20-5
8	Central Okla.	22-3	25-3
9	Central Mo.	18-7	18-7
10	Minnesota St.	19-5	21-5

Top Seed in GAC Tournament: Ouachita Baptist, Ark. (24-4)

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