MASON, Ohio – Another NCAA Championship automatic qualifier is on the line, this time when six teams collide for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship beginning Thursday evening in Mason Arena.
 
To this point, it has been a dominant fall for Cedarville after the Yellow Jackets have won all four possible conference titles (men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer).
 
To make it a fifth this fall and four in a row in volleyball, the Yellow Jackets (18-14, 9-1 G-MAC) are the hunted once again -- only this year it will be on a neutral court.
 
The surge of the home crowd from the Callan Athletic Center certainly was a factor and helped carry Cedarville past Ohio Valley in a spirited four-set final in the 2014 championship.
 
This time though, Ohio Valley was left on the outside looking in as the postseason field was determined, and the Fighting Scots were the only team to bring down Cedarville during the regular season.
 
And the final tournament bracket came down to the final week of the regular season as all four teams from the Blue Division (two wild card selections) qualified for the postseason.
 
On Thursday, top overall seed Cedarville and another No. 1 seed, Alderson Broaddus (14-17, 8-2 G-MAC), will be spectators after earning an opening-round bye with their division titles. The Battlers nearly matched Cedarville for the league's best record and roll out plenty of depth at each position for a run at a league crown.
 
The first quarterfinal features No. 2 Davis & Elkins (14-15, 6-4 G-MAC) and No. 3 Ursuline (8-23, 3-7 G-MAC) in a showdown of first-year head coaches Kylie Carrington and Jayme Plummer.
 
The Senators have overcome a 1-11 start to the season to go on a nine-match win streak towards the end of the season and enter the tourney as winners in 11 of their last 12.
 
Ursuline had the upper hand in a Sept. 25 meeting against D&E with a 3-1 win. The Arrows have endured some injuries at key positions to secure three league victories.
 
The Thursday nightcap will include No. 2 Trevecca Nazarene (17-11, 7-3 G-MAC) vs. No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan (9-19, 3-7 G-MAC). These two teams will have seen each other just five days ago when the Trojans completed a sweep in Owensboro.
 
TNU and KWC have met twice already in the month of November and regardless of sport, the third time facing a conference opponent during the season can be tricky. 
 
Like D&E, Kentucky Wesleyan has overcome a sluggish start to the season and triggered a stretch of six wins in seven matches with a strong showing at the Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover.
 
The Trojans have pushed Cedarville to the brink in five sets on Oct. 30 and enter the postseason red hot on a perfect five-match win streak, including a 15-0 set record.
 
The annual G-MAC Volleyball All-Conference Team is scheduled to be released on Thursday at 10 a.m. EST.
 
Admission for the G-MAC Volleyball Championship in Mason Arena at Mason High School is $8 general admission per session, seniors/youth (6-18)/students at $5 per session and a three-day tournament pass is $20.
 
All five matches of the conference tournament will be streamed live with stats on G-MACsports.com through Stretch Internet with Keith Kokinda and assistant commissioner Ben Schlesselman combining for the call. The video/live stat link is here.