ERIE, Pa. – For the second time in program history and the first time since 2005, the Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lions earned an automatic bid into the 64-team tournament after winning their third the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championship on Sunday.
Behrend will travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan to face the No. 1 seed Calvin Knights (29-1), who are ranked second in the latest AVCA National Poll, on Thursday in a first-round match at 8 p.m. Calvin will host the eight-team NCAA Regional with other first-round matches including Wittenberg (23-8) against Bluffton (16-18), Chicago (26-10) vs. Buffalo State (25-9), and Mount Union (30-4) against Carnegie-Mellon (25-9). Thursday's winners will play in regional semifinals on Friday with the regional final set for Saturday.
In Behrend's previous NCAA appearance, the Lions fell to Gettysburg 3-0 in the first round at Juniata on Nov. 10, 2005. Calvin is making its 10th consecutive trip and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Knights are 33-23 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. A year ago, Calvin reached the NCAA III finals before falling to St. Thomas in a five-set match. In 2010, the Knights claimed the NCAA III title, defeating Emory in four sets.
Behrend won the AMCC regular-season championship with a 9-0 record, before defeating Hilbert 3-0 in the conference semifinals and then Pitt-Bradford 3-1 in the title match. The Knights are entering the tournament after winning MIAA Championship in a thrilling 3-2 match over No. 1 ranked-team in the nation, Hope.
It will be the first time Behrend and the Knights play each other in program history.
