INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The MAC Champion Bowling Green Falcons and Ball State Cardinals have earned bids to the 2022 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.

Sunday night provided one of the biggest moments in program history, as the Ball State women's volleyball team learned it earned an at-large berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
 
The 2022 Mid-American Conference regular season champion and tournament runner-up Cardinals (24-8; 15-3 MAC) will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to battle fourth-seeded Marquette on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Al McGuire Center.
 
The winner of that match will battle either fifth-seeded Georgia Tech or Wright State in Friday's second round.
 
Ball State will be making its 11th appearance, and third as an at-large (2000, 2011, 2022), in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. It's also the program's third appearance in the last four seasons under head coach Kelli Miller Phillips.
 
The Cardinals are 3-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a first-round win over Michigan last season. 

The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons, facing Western Kentucky in the first round of the tournament. The Falcons will travel to Lexington, Ky. to go against the Hilltoppers. The winner of the match will advance to face the winner of the match between Kentucky and Loyola Chicago. The Falcons and Hilltoppers will play on Thursday (Dec. 1) inside Memorial Coliseum. Ticket information will be released in the coming days. For questions, email the ticket office at tickets@bgsu.edu or by calling 419-372-0000.

The Falcons received an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Ball State Cardinals in five sets at the MAC Championship on Tuesday (Nov. 22). This will mark the Falcons' fourth appearance in the Tournament in program history and the third under Head Coach Danijela Tomic. The last appearance for the Falcons came during the 2020-21 season with the other two coming in 2012 and 1991. 

The Falcons enter the NCAA Tournament with a 22-9 record during the 2022 season, including a 15-3 standing within the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green is currently in the midst of an eight-match win streak, resulting in the MAC Tournament title. Bowling Green played one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the nation this season and picked up wins over Tennessee and Mississippi State, both of whom were receiving votes in the national poll at the time of the match. 

Western Kentucky finished the season with a 28-3 record, going an undefeated 14-0 within Conference USA. The Hilltoppers, however, lost in the conference championship to Rice in five sets. In the most recent national rankings, WKU was ranked 21st in the country. Western Kentucky's attack is paced by the powerful combination of Lauren Matthews with 448 kills and Paige Briggs with 396. On the defensive end, Abby Schaefer leads the way with 308 digs with Briggs (252) and Ashley Hood (231) close behind.