ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – For the 21^st time in program history, the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team is going dancing.
 
After falling to St. Olaf in the MIAC Semifinals Thursday, Saint Benedict had to wait a few extra days this year to learn its NCAA Tournament fate, but during Monday's selection show the team was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
 
For the third straight season and the eighth time in head coach Nicole Hess' 10 years, CSB (23-5) is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The team earned an at-large bid, and takes on region rival UW-Eau Claire Thursday, Nov. 14, in the first round of the St. Paul Regional, hosted by the University of St. Thomas. The team's first-round match is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CSB is the region's No. 3 seed and the Blugolds are the six seed.
 
The winner of Thursday's game between the Bennies and the Blugolds takes on the winner of second-seeded St. Olaf and seventh-seeded Northwestern. Host-school St. Thomas earned the region's top seed and takes on Dubuque Thursday, and No. 4 UW-Stevens Point and No. 5 Augsburg play in the second match of the top half of the bracket. This marks the second straight season the MIAC has had four teams at the national tournament.
 
This marks the second straight trip to nationals for UWEC, which made it all the way to the NCAA Semifinals last season. The Blugolds head into Thursday's first round national tournament game with a 20-9 overall record. The first time these two teams met this season, CSB won 3-1 by scores of 25-23, 25-18, 18-25 and 25-15. Saint Benedict hit .245 to the Blugolds' .173, and out-blocked UWEC 6-2.
 
Eau Claire had a 10-match winning streak snapped on Nov. 7 in the WIAC Semifinals. The team's last win in that stretch was a 3-1 win over then-No. 1 Chicago. Of the team's nine losses, six came in Eau Claire's first 12 matches of the season. The Blugolds are 11-3 since Oct. 4.
 
CSB's latest NCAA Tournament berth is an exclamation point on an incredible season thus far. The team got off to its best start since 2013, and picked up wins over several ranked teams – including the then-No. 4 Blugolds. Along the way, junior Hunter Weiss reached the 1,000-kill milestone, Katie Koch notched the 1,000^th assist of her career and Weiss became the first MIAC Player of the Year since 1990 for the Bennies. Hunter and her twin sister, Madison Weiss, are in the top five in the MIAC in nearly ever offensive and blocking statistical category, and they Madison leads the nation in both hitting percentage and total blocks.