INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team earned an at-large bid into the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship and will take on the University of Northwestern (Minn.) in the opening round on Thursday at Schoenecker Arena on the campus of the University of St. Thomas.

St. Olaf will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history and the first time since 2010 after receiving one of 20 "Pool C" at-large bids into the 64-team field. The Oles and Eagles will play the second match of the day on Thursday at 3 p.m.

The at-large bid came after St. Olaf advanced to the championship match of the 2019 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs before falling to top-seeded St. Thomas on Saturday night. The host Tommies and Oles are two of four MIAC teams in the eight-team regional in St. Paul.

Thursday's first match will see Saint Benedict take on UW-Eau Claire at 12:30 p.m. before St. Olaf (26-5) faces Northwestern (24-8). The final two matches of the day will be UW-Stevens Point (26-8) against Augsburg (23-6) at 5:30 p.m. and St. Thomas (29-4) versus Dubuque (22-10) at 8 p.m.

Tickets for the regional are available in single-session and all-session varieties. Single-session tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors/students and $2 for children ages 3-12. All-session passes are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors/students and $7 for children ages 3-12. Children two and under are free. All tickets must be purchased at the doors in the Anderson Athletic & Recreation Complex.

Fans unable to make it to St. Paul can follow the match via live video or live stats provided by St. Thomas.

The winner of the St. Olaf/Northwestern match on Thursday will take on the winner of the Saint Benedict/UW-Eau Claire in Friday's first semifinal at 4:30 p.m., while the winners between St. Thomas/Dubuque and UW-Stevens Point/Augsburg will play in the other regional semifinal at 7 p.m.

Northwestern earned one of 43 automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament on Saturday by sweeping Minnesota Morris in a matchup of the conference's top-two seeds. The Eagles are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time after earning eight-straight berths from 2010-17.

St. Olaf has a record of 12-10 in its previous 10 NCAA Tournament appearances (1993-98, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2010), finishing as high as third in 1996 while also qualifying for the national quarterfinals in 1994 and 1995. In their last appearance, the Oles advanced to the regional final in 2010 before falling to host St. Thomas. 

The Oles and Eagles are meeting for the second time in the NCAA Tournament. St. Olaf started its run to the 2010 regional final with a five-set win over Northwestern at Schoenecker Arena. St. Olaf swept Northwestern during the regular season back on Oct. 4 at Skoglund Center by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.