Wayne State College is ranked first in the second of three NCAA Division II Central Region Volleyball Rankings announced Wednesday afternoon by NCAA.  The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Division II National Tournament November 30-December 3.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the GAC, MIAA and NSIC Postseason Tournaments with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
            Wayne State is one of seven NSIC schools listed in the rankings and is first with a 25-1 NCAA overall record as of November 5th.  Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State from the NSIC are ranked second and third with Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri from the MIAA rounding out the top five teams.
            Central Oklahoma is sixth with four NSIC teams closing out the top 10 teams in the region – Minnesota Duluth seventh, St. Cloud State eighth, Winona State ninth and Northern State 10th.  The NCAA Volleyball selection show will be streamed online on Monday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.
            Wayne State is 26-1 overall and a perfect 17-0 in NSIC play heading into Saturday's regular season finale hosting #9 St. Cloud State at 1 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.  The Wildcats have won 19 straight games and ranked #1 in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll for an eighth straight week.
 
NCAA Central Region Volleyball Rankings
(records as of November 6, 2023)
                                              Overall  In-Region
1.         Wayne State                 25-1      24-1
2.         Concordia-St. Paul        23-2      23-2
3.         Southwest Minnesota    22-4      20-3
4.         Nebraska-Kearney         23-3      23-3
5.         Central Missouri            19-7      16-4
6.         Central Oklahoma         24-4      22-4
7.         Minnesota Duluth          16-8      13-7
8.         St. Cloud State              19-6      15-5
9.         Winona State                18-7      17-6
10.        Northern State              17-8      16-8