After a runner up finish in the MIAA tournament, the UNK volleyball team is back in the NCAA tournament for the 25th consecutive season.
In the MIAA tournament, UNK swept both Fort Hays and Northwest Missouri in straight sets to cruise to a tournament championship against Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos were the only team to beat the Lopers in the regular season, and it continued as the Lopers fell in four sets.
Both the second and third sets were close, with UNK dropping them 31-29 and 26-24. The Lopers had five set points in the second but were unable to put the Bronchos away.
The loss leaves UNK at 30-2, with Central Oklahoma making up both of those losses.
Sophomore middle blocker Mia Berg, who was named MIAA hitter of the year, said while losing sucks it is a good way to learn.
“We know what we need to work on and what our weaknesses are so we can do good at regionals,” Berg said. “They’re (Central Oklahoma) really unstoppable offensively. We’re going to figure out a way to stop them at regionals.”
UNK had four players honored on the all-MIAA tournament team. Emilee Lane, Asha Regier, Peyton Neff and Berg all earned recognition.
Before the tournament, UNK dominated the postseason awards, with seven players on the all-MIAA list. Neff won setter of the year, Alli Wiese won libero and co-defensive player of the year and coach Rick Squiers won coach of the year for the fourth time in his UNK career.
Now UNK looks ahead to the central regional, which year in and year out has been incredibly tough. UNK earned the three seed as 27-2 St. Cloud earned the first seed and 30-2 Central Oklahoma grabbing the two seed. Five of the eight teams in the region are nationally ranked in the top 25, and two ranked teams were left out of the NCAA tournament in 23-7 Wayne State and 21-7 Northern State.
Berg said it’s a good mix of good and bad things when playing in such a tough region.
“If you get into the central regional, that’s just saying something on its own,” Berg said. “Getting in is obviously an accomplishment but winning will really say a lot about your team
The Lopers will battle rival Washburn for the third time this season in the first round of the region, a team they swept at home and beat in five sets on the road.
Wiese said the experience against MIAA opponents throughout the season will help as they get ready for this postseason run.
“We’ve shown that we can go to five sets and win and persevere through tough matches,” Wiese said. “I think hopefully it’s prepared us for even the tough conferences outside of our conference.”
UNK is tied for seventh in all-time most NCAA appearances at the Division II level. UNK is 34-27 all time in the NCAA tournament, with 2019 being the last time they made it out of the region. UNK finished as the national runner up that year.
Wiese, who is in her first season with UNK, said it’s humbling to continue the great traditions of a legacy program.
“It’s truly an honor and adding to this has been really special,” Wiese said. “I hope we can make this year even better than the past 25 years and hopefully we can do something that’s never been done here before.”
First serve is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, with the central regional set to end on Saturday. Watching is free on the NSIC network and can be heard as well on 93.1 the river and 106.9 in Kearney.
