November 11, 2015

Interactive NCAA bracket

BLUFFTON, Ohio - For the third consecutive season and the fourth time in the past seven years, Coach Yarnell and his Bluffton University volleyball team will play in the NCAA Regionals following their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship win at host and #1 seed Hanover. The Beavers will travel nearly 400 miles for a date with #6 ranked Wittenberg University on Friday, November 13, 2015. The contest between Ohio foes will take place on the campus of #1 seed and #3 ranked Juniata College in Huntingdon, Penn.

Wittenberg enters the tournament on a roll with nine straight victories, including the NCAC Tournament victory over DePauw. The Tigers have won 21 NCAC regular season titles, including the last 10, and 21 NCAC Tournament titles, including the last nine, since 1992. 

Wittenberg is making its 21st NCAA appearance and 20th in a row. The Tigers have reached the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16 a total of 14 times in school history, the national quarterfinals six of the last 13 years, the national semifinals four times and the championship game for the first time when they won the national title in 2011. Wittenberg has a 36-19 (.655) overall record in the national tournament.                  

The other three regional quarterfinal matchups Friday feature Heidelberg University against McDaniel at 12:30 p.m., Mary Washington against Case Reserve at 5:30 p.m., and Franciscan College against tournament host Juniata College at 8 p.m. Juniata will be making its 35st straight appearance in the national tournament. Semifinal matches are scheduled for 3:30 and 6 p.m. Saturday, with the regional championship set for 3 p.m. Sunday.                       

This will be Bluffton's seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament with four coming in the last seven years. Bluffton went three times between 1994 and 1997 before Coach Yarnell made his first trip in 2009 when the Beavers (27-6 overall) traveled to Hope College for a first-round matchup with Ohio Northern after rolling through the HCAC with a perfect 8-0 mark.

Bluffton followed that up with an improbable run to the tourney in 2013 when they became the first #6 seed to make it through the HCAC tournament with a 3-0 mark that culminated with a four-set victory over another surprise finalist, #5 seeded Hanover College. Bluffton fell to #10 Wittenberg (25-16, 25-19, 25-20) in the first round at Calvin College following their 2013 HCAC title. 

The Beavers entered the 2014 HCAC tournament as the #2 seed and dispatched Hanover in three sets before taking down regular season champion Defiance for the second time of the season in the conference finals. Bluffton fell at #7 Washington (Mo.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-16.             

With a 19-12 overall record, Bluffton had a target on its back all season as the pre-season HCAC favorite. The Beavers went to Hanover with a 6-0 mark, but the Panthers kept their spotless HCAC record intact with a thrilling five-set victory ensuring that the tournament would run through Hanover. Bluffton wiped away Mount St. Joseph and Franklin to secure the #2 seed and following a four-set semifinal win over rival Defiance, the Beavers rallied in each set for a stunning sweep of Hanover with the NCAA berth on the line. It marked the fifth HCAC championship game for the Beavers in seven seasons with four titles during that span, including three consecutive for Bluffton.

Bluffton leads the all-time series with Wittenberg by an 11-6 count. The Beavers won the first 11 meetings, but the Tigers have been victorious the last six times the foes have met. The Tigers swept a tri-match with Bluffton and Transylvania at the Sommer Center in 2014 when the teams last faced off.

-BEAVERS-