MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- Rams Volleyball will be playing to keep their season alive this weekend. North Central is traveling to the campus of Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, N.D. for the 2013 NCCAA North Central Region Championship hosted by the Lions on Friday and Saturday. The four team tournament will decide the region champion and the automatic berth in the NCCAA National Tournament next week.
North Central has shown improvement this season, going 5-27 a year after going 2-25. The young team features just one senior and the team still has a chance to keep their season going for another week if they can meet their potential and pull off a couple of upsets.
Friday the Rams open the tournament as the third seed and will take on second seed Providence University-College (Otterburne, Manitoba) at 1 p.m. The top seeded Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, Iowa) Eagles will take on the host and fourth seed Trinity Bible College Lions at 3 p.m.
The losing teams from the first two matches will play an elimination game scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday's first round winners will play at 7 p.m. that evening with a berth in the regional final at stake.
Saturday begins with a 10 a.m. elimination match as the winner of the Friday, 5 p.m. match will take on the loser of Friday's 7 p.m. game. The winner of Saturday's first match will take on the winner of Friday's 7 p.m. match in a potential region championship clinching match at Noon. If the unbeaten team wins they will earn the region title and the automatic berth into the NCCAA National Championship Tournament.
If the team from the losers bracket wins the Noon match, the teams would play a final match scheduled for 2 p.m. with the winner claiming the region banner.
NCCAA All-Region awards and the 2013 Regional Coach of the Year will be announced during the region tournament on Friday.
The NCCAA National Championship Tournament begins on November 14 and runs through November 16 and will be hosted by Lincoln Christian University (Lincoln, Ill.). The NCCAA Region Chairs have already selected national tournament seeding for the ten team tournament and the North Central region winner will earn the ninth slot.
