Northwest Missouri State Football, volleyball selection shows Sunday

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State football and volleyball programs will each learn their postseason fate Sunday when the NCAA reveals its tournament fields for both sports.

The 24-team football field will be announced at 2 p.m. on ESPN News. The 64-team volleyball bracket will be announced at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Head football coach Mel Tjeerdsma and his Bearcats are looking to make their seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA playoffs. Northwest (8-1, 8-0 MIAA) is currently seeded third in the NCAA regional rankings with one week of play remaining. The top six teams in the region will qualify. The top two teams will receive first-round byes while seeds three and four will host first-round contests Nov. 20.

Northwest is the defending Division II national champions and have competed in the national championship game an unprecedented five straight seasons.

Head coach Jessica Rinehart and the Northwest volleyball team is looking to make its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and first postseason appearance since 1981. The Bearcats (14-12, 10-7 MIAA) are ranked seventh in the NCAA regional rankings released Wednesday. The top eight seeds will qualify for the tournament field with games to begin either Nov. 18 or Nov. 19 at the host institution.

Northwest has three regular-season games remaining on its schedule. The Bearcats host Missouri Western (12-15, 8-10 MIAA) tonight at 7 p.m., Truman (23-7, 12-6 MIAA) at 7 p.m. Friday and travel to Missouri Southern (17-12, 7-10 MIAA) for a 5 p.m. match Saturday.