University of Northwestern volleyball eyes deep run in NCAA tournament

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The University of Northwestern in St. Paul has one of the best Division III volleyball programs in the country. The Eagles are flying high; about to start their 19th NCAA Tournament after another great season.

"Just building relationships on the off the court really transforms us on the court," said sophomore outside hitter Abby Glanzer.

Northwestern is ranked fourth in the nation. The Eagles have been good for a long time. They're the UMAC Champions for the 12th straight year and have not lost a conference match since 2019.

"It's really cool coming into a program that's really successful," said Glanzer, last year's AVCA Freshman of the year. "Coach does such a great job of building the culture. And it also makes a really big difference when everyone is bought into that same goal and purpose in mind."

"These guys have such a common bond in terms of their faith and that sets the ground for everything that we do," said longtime Eagles head coach Beth Wilmeth. "I think that helps our team culture be so stable from year to year."

"Integrity and not playing to win, or playing to not lose, but playing to play great, and that takes a lot of pressure off," said senior outside hitter Gabrielle Straub.

The Eagles earned a top regional seed. Which means Northwestern will host their section of the tournament.

"It was a big goal of ours to host this season and so the fact that we get to fulfills that. And so we're really excited," said Glanzer.

"We expect it to be really challenging but we also love that we get to be at home in front of our fans, sleeping in our own beds, eating our own food. It just gives us a little bit of an advantage," said Wilmeth.

The program's best finish was a final four appearance in 2016. Can they beat that, this year?

"It would be such an honor, and such a blessing," said Straub. "But we are also in a really tough region. So it's all up in the air."

"They don't need to do it for me or for their parents or for the school, they just need to enjoy every moment and try to make a deep run," said Wilmeth. "Let's see what we can do."

Northwestern plays its first round match against North Park University of Chicago, Illinois on Thursday at 8 p.m.