Midwest Region Champion Hillsdale Seeded Fourth for NCAA Quarterfinals in Tampa

12.6.21

NCAA Championship Bracket

Elite Eight Website


INDIANAPOLIS
– Newly-crowned Midwest Region champion Hillsdale was reseeded for the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship quarterfinals by the national committee on Sunday night.
 
The Chargers will be No. 4 with the eight remaining teams, all respective regional champions, soon to be en route to Tampa, Fla., at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center for competition starting on Thursday, Dec. 9.
 
Hillsdale will be slotted against No. 5 seed and Atlantic Region champion Gannon in the 5 p.m. ET matchup. The winner would face either No. 1 quarterfinal seed Tampa or No. 8 Augusta on Friday, Dec. 10. Friday's national semifinals are slated for 5 and 7:30 p.m., while the National Championship match is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11.
 
The other half of the quarterfinals bracket will feature No. 2 Western Washington against No. 7 Daemen and No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 7 West Texas A&M.
 
Coincidentally, the Chargers faced Gannon earlier in the delayed spring, their final match in April in Dallas, Texas, at the AVCA DII Tournament in the Silver Bracket. Hillsdale has an idea of what to expect from the Knights (31-6 overall) in the Elite Eight.
 
The first three rounds of the NCAA tournament were about as unpredictable as it could be with all eight No. 1 region seeds getting eliminated prior to the quarterfinals.  
 
The Chargers were originally seeded third in the Midwest Region bracket and captured their first regional title on Saturday over No. 1 seed Ferris State. Head coach Chris Gravel and his program are 30-4 overall while taking a 10-match win streak into the national tournament quarterfinals.
 
Hillsdale defeated three straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents in No. 6 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Michigan Tech and the Bulldogs, on their march to the regional trophy.