Titans To Battle Knights In NCAA Postseason Opener

UW-Oshkosh received one of 20 at-large berths to the 64-team NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship on Monday (Nov. 10).

The Titans will play top-ranked and defending national champion Calvin College (Mich.) at 3 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 13) at Carthage College in Kenosha.

UW-Oshkosh, which has a 25-17 NCAA postseason record, is making its 16th appearance in the championship and first since 2010. UW-Oshkosh (31-7) and Calvin College (27-3) have met once before in the NCAA Championship, a 3-0 first-round sweep by the Titans in 1991.

The eight-team Kenosha Regional features four programs ranked in the top 25 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), including 14th-ranked Carthage College, 17th-ranked Elmhurst College (Ill.) and 24th-ranked UW-Whitewater.

The other first-round matches at the Kenosha Regional have UW-Whitewater (26-8) playing Elmhurst College (30-8) at 12:30 p.m., DePauw University (Ind.) (26-10) battling the University of Chicago (Ill.) (26-12) at 5:30 p.m., and Carthage College (35-3) challenging Dominican University (Ill.) (24-11) at 8 p.m.

The winner between UW-Oshkosh and Calvin College will play the winner of UW-Whitewater and Elmhurst College on Friday (Nov. 14) at 4:30 p.m. The regional final will be played on Saturday at 7 p.m.

UW-Oshkosh won the third-place match with a 3-2 victory over UW-River Falls at the WIAC Championship last Saturday in Stevens Point. It was the Titans' best showing at the conference tournament since 2009.

The AVCA has ranked Calvin College first in the past two weekly national polls. The Knights captured the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular-season title and qualified for the NCAA Championship by winning the league's postseason tournament.

Calvin College has claimed two of the last four NCAA Division III titles, defeating California Lutheran University, 3-2, last season and Emory University (Ga.), 3-1, in 2010. The Knights, who have a 39-23 record in the NCAA Championship, are making their 24th appearance.

WIAC co-champion UW-Whitewater also qualified for the regional as an at-large selection. The Warhawks, who have a 45-25 record at the NCAA Championship, are making their 27th appearance.

Elmhurst College received an at-large bid to the regional. The Bluejays, who placed fourth in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) regular-season standings, own a 27-16 record in 18 appearances at the NCAA Championship.

Carthage College qualified for the regional by winning the CCIW Tournament. The CCIW's regular-season champion has an 11-8 record in eight NCAA Championship appearances.

Dominican University qualified for the regional by capturing the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament. The Stars have not won a match at the NCAA Championship in three previous appearances. Dominican University was the NACC's regular-season champion.

DePauw University received an at-large berth to the regional after placing second during the regular season in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers are winless in four appearances at the NCAA Championship.

The University of Chicago earned an at-large bid to the regional after taking second place in the University Athletic Association. The Maroons have a 3-4 record in four previous NCAA Championship appearances.

UW-Oshkosh, which opened the 2014 season with 15 straight wins, has already played three teams that qualified for the Kenosha Regional. UW-Oshkosh defeated Dominican University, 3-0, on Sept. 13 and was beaten twice by UW-Whitewater and once by Carthage College.

The winner of the Kenosha Regional will advance to the eight-team finals on Nov. 21-23 at host Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

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