MARSHALL, Texas – Receiving the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament, East Texas Baptist University is making their third straight NCAA post-season appearance. This will be the program's sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers are headed to Boston, Mass., to the Medford Regional hosted by Tufts University to play Maine Maritime in the First Round.
 
"We are super excited to go to a new city and somewhere we haven't been to before," said head coach Mallory Mathews. "We are really excited for this regional and hoping we can go out there and be successful."
 
ETBU will be in a regional with Maine Maritime, Emory University (Ga.), Springfield University (Mass.), Kean University (N.J.), Lasell University (Mass.), Tufts University (Mass.), and Bridgewater State (Mass.). The Tigers will face Maine Maritime in the NCAA First Round on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. in Cousens Gym. In the program's history, ETBU has faced Emory, Tufts, and Bridgewater State, but hasn't competed against Maine Maritime.
 
This is ETBU's third appearance under Matthews, who guided the Tigers to three American Southwest Conference Tournament Championships. She is 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round in 2023 and 2024. Overall, ETBU is 4-5 in the NCAA Tournament, with five appearances, reaching the second round in 2001, 2003, 2023, and 2024.
 
It will be the first time ETBU has traveled to the East Coast for the NCAA Tournament, as they have played in San Antonio (2001, 2003), Atlanta, Ga. (2002), Oshkosh, Wis. (2023), and Virginia Beach (2024). They are the only undefeated team in NCAA Division III at 31-0 and the No. 1 seed.
 
In the Medford Regional, ETBU has the No. 1 NPI ranking from Nov. 16 at 70.571. Tufts is No. 10 at 65.161, and Kean is at No. 22 (61.397) to round out the top 25. Emory follows at No. 29 (60.121) while Springfield is No. 38 (59.198), Lasell is No. 41 (58.937), Bridgewater State is No. 114 (54.170), and Maine Maritime is No. 126 (53.781). In the AVCA poll from Nov. 11, ETBU is No. 1, Emory is No. 13, and Tufts is No. 20.
 
The tournament will take place from November 20-22 in Boston, Mass., at Cousens Gym. There will be four matches on Thursday, two on Friday, and the Regional Championship on Saturday.