Regional Portal | Bracket | Selection Show
 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the fourth consecutive year, the Ithaca College women's volleyball team heard its name called on the first Monday of November when the NCAA Selection Committee unveiled the bracket for the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament. With the team gathered together in the VIP Room of the A&E Center, the Bombers learned that they would not need to travel from the friendly confines of South Hill, as Ithaca was selected as one of eight regional host sites for the 2018 Tournament. Ithaca will face NECC Champion Southern Vermont in the final match of the Opening Round of matches at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 9.
 
Much like last season where the Bombers entered the day looking to earn one of 21 at-large bids up for grabs, IC did not need to wait long to hear its name called. The Bombers were the third regional site to be announced during the NCAA Selection Show, which was released on the NCAA Website shortly after 12:30 p.m. It was a historic moment for IC, as the Bombers are set to host NCAA Tournament volleyball on their home court for just seventh time in program history and first time since 2004.
 
Joining Ithaca and Southern Vermont in the eight-team pod for the New York Region are an enticing mix of talented programs that should make for a quite competitive weekend of action. The group includes two programs that IC is extremely familiar with in second-seed Carnegie Mellon and third-seed RIT. The Bombers faced both programs during the regular season this season. The remainder of the regional field consists of: fourth-seed Stevenson, fifth-seed Hunter, sixth-seed Nazareth, and seventh-seed Morrisville State.
 
Ithaca enters the weekend with an 18-7 record, which included a Liberty League regular-season title for a second straight season. Although Ithaca was shocked by Clarkson in the Semifinal Round of the Liberty League Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee could not overlook the Bombers' considerable resume. IC posted 10 victories over Regionally Ranked teams during the season, which included a head-to-head win over RIT during the regular-season that likely made the difference in earning hosting rights over the Tigers despite RIT earning the automatic bid from the Liberty League at Ben Light Gymnasium this past weekend.
 
Ithaca's first-round opponent will be Southern Vermont. The Mountaineers enter the weekend with a 21-6 record, which included an amazing run through the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament to capture the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. It has been a magical year for Southern Vermont, as the 21 victories snapped four consecutive seasons of losing records coming into the fall. Entering the postseason as the third seed in the NECC, Southern Vermont upset second-seeded Elms and top-seeded Eastern Nazarene this past weekend to secure the program's first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 2013.
 
Joining Ithaca and Southern Vermont on the top side of the eight-team pod are fourth-seed Stevenson and fifth-seed Hunter. Stevenson (22-11) is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, as the Mustangs are a part of the NCAA Tournament field for an eighth consecutive season. The squad captured its seventh consecutive MAC Commonwealth Championship this past weekend to earn the automatic bid. Hunter (24-8) punched its ticket to the 64-team field by capturing its fifth consecutive CUNYAC title, finishing with an undefeated mark in conference play. Interestingly, the matchup will be a rematch from last season's opening round, as the Mustangs hosted the Hawks in a First-Round contest last fall, which Stevenson won in three sets.
 
The bottom half of the bracket are headlined by Carnegie Mellon (22-10) and RIT (28-4). Like the Bombers, the Tartans secured an at-large bid to the tournament field with the team's victory over the Bombers during the final weekend of regular-season play likely providing the final boost to their NCAA Tournament resume. The Tigers enter the weekend on a roll, dispatching Vassar and Clarkson en route to the 2018 Liberty League Championship at Ben Light Gymnasium this past weekend.
 
Carnegie Mellon will face Morrisville State (25-6) in the Opening Round on Friday. The Mustangs earned their place in the tournament field with an impressive run through the NEAC to secure a second consecutive conference title. They bested Gallaudet and Lancaster Bible this past weekend to pick up the conference's automatic berth.
 
RIT's opening match will be against Empire 8 Champion Nazareth (23-12). The Golden Flyers are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, as the squad downed Stevens in the E8 Championship Match in Hoboken, N.J., on Sunday to earn the automatic berth. Notably, both Rochester rivals met in a contest earlier this season, with RIT defeating Nazareth in a match that went the distance in a five-set thriller.
 
The following are the scheduled start times for this weekend's Regional Rounds.
 
Friday, November 9, 2018 – Opening Round
Match #1: #3 RIT vs. #6 Nazareth – 12:30 PM
Match #2: #2 Carnegie Mellon vs. #7 Morrisville State – 3:00 PM
Match #3: #4 Stevenson vs. #5 Hunter – 5:30 PM
Match #4: #1 Ithaca vs. #8 Southern Vermont – 8:00 PM
 
Saturday, November 10, 2018 – Regional Semifinals
Match #5: Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2 – 2:30 PM
Match #6: Winner of Match #3 vs. Winner of Match #4 – 5:00 PM
 
Sunday, November 11, 2018 – Regional Championships
Match #7: Winner of Match #5 vs. Winner of Match #6 – 2:00 PM
 
Stay tuned to the Ithaca College Athletics Website for continued coverage of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament in the coming days.