Wittenberg Men's Volleyball Earns First NCAA Tournament Berth
Wittenberg Men's Volleyball has been selected to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history. The Tigers will open their quest for an NCAA Division III championship with a first-round match against Wentworth Institute of Technology at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, on the campus of Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
The Tigers' contest against Wentworth, the champion of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), is one of four matches scheduled for the opening-weekend regional tournament hosted by Juniata. The winner of the match between Wittenberg and Wentworth (19-9) will advance to a second-round match against the host Eagles, ranked second in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll with a 29-2 overall record, on Friday, April 17. That is one of two matches at Juniata that day, with the other featuring No. 8 Messiah (25-5) and No. 17 Randolph-Macon (30-4). All matches will be played in Juniata's Memorial Gymnasium.
The winners of the second-round matches will square off on Saturday, April 18, for the right to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals on Thursday, April 23, at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. The national championship match will take place on Saturday, April 25, also at Springfield College.
Wittenberg advanced to the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament by virtue of an automatic berth, earned by winning the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Tournament title with a thrilling 3-2 decision against Calvin on Saturday, April 11. The Tigers were regular season co-champions of the MCVL with an 8-1 record. The MCVL Tournament title was Wittenberg's first in four years as a league member, while the regular season title was the third in four years for the Tigers in the MCVL.
"This team has really come together over the last few weeks, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves on a national stage," said second-year Wittenberg Head Coach Jamie Peterson. "Wentworth is going to be a tremendous challenge, but we've worked hard to get to this point, and I am sure we will be ready to go."
Sporting an overall record of 21-5, Wittenberg enters the national competition riding an 11-match winning streak. After competing against a challenging regular season schedule, Wittenberg has a record of 2-1 against teams that earned berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament and a record of 1-2 against teams receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll.
Wittenberg Men's Volleyball made its debut as an intercollegiate program in 2016 and is making its 11th year of competition, but the University is no stranger to success in the sport. The Tigers' women's team has made 29 NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and ranks among the top programs in the country by almost any metric, including NCAA Tournament appearances, all-time winning percentage, and all-time wins. Wittenberg Women's Volleyball has reached the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals eight times, the national semifinals six times, and the championship game in 2011, 2015, and 2017. Wittenberg won the NCAA Division III Championship in 2011 and has a 50-28 overall record in the NCAA Division III Tournament since its first appearance in 1993.
Written By: Ryan Maurer