Concordia, St. Thomas claim top two seeds in MIAC Volleyball Playoffs

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The final day of the MIAC volleyball regular-season schedule couldn't have been much more exciting with the top four teams in the league all in action against one another with the championship on the line, and all six seeds in the playoffs still undetermined. In the end, the front-runners, Concordia and St. Thomas, scored crucial final-day wins to share the 2011 MIAC regular season championship and grab the top two seeds in the playoffs.

Along with those top-two seeds, Concordia and St. Thomas also receive a first-round bye and will wait until Thursday to start their postseason runs. The Cobbers, on the strength of their regular-season win over the Tommies, hold the tiebreaker and are the No. 1 seed. Concordia will enjoy home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Meanwhile St. Thomas takes home the No. 2 seed and will host a semifinal match Thursday in St. Paul.

Bethel and Saint Benedict tied for third in the conference standings, and since the Royals won the regular-season matchup between the two teams, they are the No. 3 seed while the Blazers enter the playoffs seeded fourth. There was one more tie in the standings for fifth between Gustavus and Augsburg, and the Gusties held that tiebreaker by virtue of their win over the Auggies, so they'll be No. 5 and Augsburg will claim the final spot at No. 6.

The postseason begins Tuesday with Augsburg traveling to Bethel and Gustavus heading to Saint Benedict with both matches starting at 7 p.m. The lowest remaining seed will head north to Moorhead Thursday to face Concordia, and the second-lowest remaining seed will head to St. Paul to take on St. Thomas. The semifinal winners will advance to Saturday's championship match, which will be hosted by the highest-seeded remaining team, and the victor will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.

The MIAC has set up a home page for the 2011 MIAC Volleyball Playoffs, featuring the seeds, schedules, links to info about each team and tiebreaker criteria.

2011 MIAC Volleyball Playoff Field
No. 1 seed – Concordia College (23-3, 10-1 MIAC)*
No. 2 seed –University of St. Thomas (28-3, 10-1 MIAC)
No. 3 seed – Bethel University (21-8, 8-3 MIAC)*
No. 4 seed – College of Saint Benedict (17-11, 8-3 MIAC)
No. 5 seed – Gustavus Adolphus College (20-9, 7-4 MIAC)*
No. 6 seed – Augsburg College (16-11, 7-4 MIAC)

*Wins tiebreaker based on criteria No. 1 - head-to-head (in conference play).