PENN STATE ALTOONA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TO FACE NO. 1 JUNIATA IN NCAA FIRST ROUND

The NCAA announced its 64-team Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament field on Monday, officially selecting the AMCC champion Penn State Altoona women’s volleyball team to its postseason.

The Lions will head to the Huntingdon (Pa.) Region of the bracket, where they will face No. 1-ranked Juniata College in the first round of the tournament this Thursday, November 21, at 7 p.m.

Penn State Altoona women’s volleyball is 18-11 overall this season. The Lions went 7-1 in the AMCC during the regular season and took the No. 2 seed in the AMCC postseason tournament. From there, the Lions defeated No. 3 seed Penn State Behrend and knocked off No. 1 seed Alfred State College to claim their second consecutive AMCC title. The program’s fourth-ever conference championship provided it with the AMCC’s automatic berth to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Juniata women’s volleyball, the defending NCAA Division III champion, is 29-0 this season, including going 9-0 in the Landmark Conference. The Eagles are the No. 1 ranked team in Division III women’s volleyball, receiving 85 first-place votes in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches’ Association top 25 poll. Juniata swept Catholic University and Scranton University in the Landmark playoffs last week to claim their 43rd consecutive conference championship.

Penn State Altoona and Juniata also met in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament last season, when the Eagles came away with a 3-0 victory over the Lions in Huntingdon.