The Lady Cougars enter the event as the No. 2 seed with a 33-9 overall record. MVNU is making its 17th trip to the NCCAA National Tournament in the past 18 years having missed only last season when the team was competing in the NAIA National Tournament instead. The Lady Cougars earned their berth with the program’s 17th NCCAA East Region title.

MVNU is led by sophomore middle hitter Jackie Albrecht, who was selected as the NCCAA East Region Player of the Year. Albrecht has compiled 564 kills, 516 digs, 126 blocks, and 45 aces so far this year. Junior right-side hitter Courtney Springer and junior setter Kaylin Austen joined Albrecht on the NCCAA East Region Team. Springer has posted 391 kills, 469 digs, 116 blocks, and 56 aces, while Austen has handed out 1,574 assists to go with 328 digs and 44 aces. Senior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham (241 kills and 345 digs), freshman middle hitter Gina Porto (383 kills and 132 blocks), sophomore middle hitter Sarah Yutzy (214 kills and 98 blocks), sophomore libero Caitlin Myles (486 digs), and freshman outside hitter Cieleste Rose (349 digs and 40 aces) have also each been major contributors to the team’s success this season.

The Lady Cougars will begin pool play on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. MST against No. 7 seed Bethel (Ind.) College followed by an 11:00 a.m. MST match against No. 6 seed Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) University. On Friday, MVNU will close out pool play against No. 10 seed Oakland City (Ind.) University at 11:00 a.m. MST and then No. 3 seed Dallas Baptist (Texas) University at 4:00 p.m. MST. The top two teams from the pool will then advance to the semifinals on Saturday at either 10:00 a.m. MST or noon.

The other pool consists of No. 1 seed Campbellsville (Ky.) University, No. 4 seed Northwestern (Minn.) College, No. 5 seed Cedarville University, No. 8 seed Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) University, and No. 9 seed Colorado Christian.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to represent our institution and our region at the NCCAA Tournament,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. "The tournament field is very strong with every team capable of beating any other team, so it is important for us to be ready to play in each match. We are looking forward to a great weekend of volleyball.”