The Emory University volleyball team will be one of 64 teams competing for the 2014 NCAA Championship. The Eagles are part of a eight-team St. Louis Regional with Washington University serving as the host institution.

Action begins on Friday (Nov. 14) with four first-round matches with the second rounds being played on Saturday.  The regional championship will be played on Sunday (Nov. 17), with the winner advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal round of the championships in Newport News, Virginia.  The schedule for the St. Louis Regional is as follows with times listed as Central Standard.

FRIDAY, NOV. 14
Match 1 -- 12:30 pm – Millikin University vs. Thomas More College
Match 2 –  3:00 pm -- Emory vs. Webster University
Match 3 -- 5:30 pm – Hendrix College vs. Maryville College
Match 4 -- 8:00 pm – Washington University vs. Bluffton University

SATURDAY, NOV. 15
Match 5 – 4:30 pm – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Match 6 – 7:00 pm – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner

SUNDAY, NOV. 16
4:00 pm – Championship Match

The Eagles of head coach Jenny McDowell earned an automatic to the NCAAs for the 19^th straight year (program's 20^th overall) after capturing the University Athletic Association Championships for the fourth time in the past six years.  McDowell checks into the NCAA Tournament with a school and career record of 613-142.  She has registered a 35-18 ledger in NCAA Tournament action (Emory's all-time mark in the NCAA Tournament is 35-19).

The Eagles, seeded No. 2 in the Championships, defeated Rochester, 3-0, in the quarterfinals before upending Carnegie Mellon, 3-0, in the semifinals.  In the title match, Emory bested Chicago, 3-1.  Emory enters the St. Louis Regional as the No. 1 seed.   

Emory's opening-round NCAA opponent will be No. 8 seed Webster University (22-12), who captured an automatic berth after winning its fourth straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Gorlocks will be making their eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament, all of which have come under 14^th year head coach Merry Graf. Emory has won the only meeting between the schools, which came during the 2005 season. 

A member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, No. 23-ranked Millikin University (30-9) enters this weekend as the No. 4 seed after landing an at-large bid to the postseason after finishing runner-up to No. 14-ranked Carthage in the CCIW Tournament finals.  The Big Blue, led by 14^th-year head coach Debbie Kiick, are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2005.  Emory stands 2-0 all-time vs. Millikin with those victories coming during the 2005 and 2007 seasons.

Thomas More College (29-4) won the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships for the third straight year to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  This season represents the Saints' 13^th trip to the NCAA Tournament.  John Spinney is in his seventh year of his second stint as the head volleyball coach at TMC.  Emory stands 8-2 all-time vs. Thomas More with the last meeting take place in 2009 (3-0 Emory win).

Led by fourth-year head coach Ryan Meek, Hendrix College is on a hot streak with wins in 16 of its last 17 matches, boosting its overall record to 30-5.  The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in the South Region, earned their first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Birmingham Southern, 3-1, in the finals of the Southern Athletic Association Tournament.  If the Eagles are the Warriors were to square off, it would represent the first-ever battle between the programs in volleyball.

Maryville will bring an 18-match winning streak into the St. Louis Regional and is coming off a championship effort at the USA South Tournament that allowed the Scots to capture the league's automatic bid.  Maryville will be making its 12^th trip to the NCAAs,  the 10th under the watchful eye of 29^th-year head coach Kandis Schram who has over 690 career wins to her credit.  The Scots will match up with Hendrix with an overall won-lost slate of 26-8 with their last setback coming back on Sept. 26 vs. Emory.   The Eagles hold a 21-2 edge in the all-time series with Maryville.

The No. 5-ranked Bears of Washington University earned an at-large spot in the Tournament following a third-place finish at the UAA Championships.  First-year head coach Vanessa Walby has guided the program to an overall record of 33-5 and its 28^th consecutive spot in the national tourney.  WU is no stranger to success in the NCAA Tournament having won 10 national crowns, most recently in 2009.  WU owns a 50-9 edge in the all-time series vs. Emory and won a meeting earlier this year, 3-2, at the UAA Round Robin II.

Bluffton enters the tournament with a 23-11 overall record. The Beavers, directed by 10^th-year head coach Steve Yarnell, are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) crown for the second year in a row.  Emory has won the only meeting between the programs, that coming in 1998.