Complete NCAA National Tournament Bracket

UW-Whitewater Volleyball Website

MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/05/07)-- Concordia will open the 2007 NCAA Tournament by squaring off against UW-Whitewater (31-4) in the first round of the Central Regional held at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. it was announced by the NCAA national office on Monday.

The winner of the first round match will face the winner of the St. Ben's/Bethel contest on Friday, Nov. 9.

UW-Whitewater is currently ranked seventh in the latest AVCA national poll. The Warhawks won the WIAC regular season and tournament championships and last season made it into the semifinals of the national tournament.

The Cobbers are one of five MIAC teams competing in the regional, giving the opening rounds the look of a second MIAC playoff tournament.

Host St. Thomas drew the second seed in the regional and will play UW-Eau Claire. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Carleton/Central match in the second round.

Concordia, ranked 20th in the latest AVCA national poll, finished the conference regular season tied for second place with an 8-3 record. CC then beat Hamline 3-0 in the first round of the MIAC playoffs before losing to St. Ben's 3-2 in the league semifinals. The Cobbers will enter the national tournament with a 17-8 overall record.

The Cobbers have now earned berths in seven total NCAA Tournaments. CC owns a 3-6 record in the past six trips to the national playoffs and has never advanced past the second round. Last year, Concordia beat Beloit (Ill.) in the first round of the Midwest regional before falling to host UW-Eau Claire 3-2.

The Cobbers have been ranked in the top 25 of the nation for the entire season and have been ranked in the top 25 of Division III for the past 44 consecutive weeks. That is a school, and MIAC, record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA national poll.

Concordia is led by senior Michelle Honek who finished the season with a team-high 363 kills. She was sixth in the MIAC in kills in overall matches during the regular season. In the team's 11 conference matches this season, Honek had 134 kills and posted double-digit kill totals in eight of those matches. She had a season-high 20 kills against St. Mary's on Sept. 29. During the season Honek set the school record for digs in a career. She currently has 391 digs on the season and 1,259 for her career. She also had 174 digs during MIAC competition and had at least 10 digs in all 11 matches. Honek was named the MIAC Co-Hitter of the Week on Oct. 29.

She was one of three Cobber players to earn conference postseason honors. Besides Honek, junior Abby Scheel was also named to the MIAC All-Conference Team and Anna Tinkham was named the MIAC Tri-Defensive Player of the Year.