TACOMA, Washington – The NCAA D-III Volleyball Championship run begins Thursday, Nov. 10.
 
Less than one week after clinching its first Northwest Conference title since 2000, the Puget Sound volleyball team takes on Trinity (Tex.) in the opening round of the NCAA Championship hosted by Claremont-M-S at 3 p.m.
 
CMS is also hosting Fontbone, UC Santa Cruz, Texas-Dallas, University of Chicago, and Texas Lutheran this week.
 
The Loggers' conference title was won in unexpected fashion. In the second-to-last match of the regular season, Puget Sound lost at Pacific Lutheran in four sets (Nov. 2). It put both teams at 10-5 in the NWC, with PLU holding the tiebreaker (head-to-head sets in conference matches). The very next day, Whitworth moved to 11-4 with a win over Linfield, guaranteeing the Pirates at least a share of the NWC title.
 
Both the Lutes and Pirates had their respective NWC season finales Friday, Nov. 4. Puget Sound's NWC finale was Nov. 5. Had either PLU or Whitworth won Friday, then the Loggers' postseason hopes would be dashed. However, the Lutes lost to George Fox, and Whitworth lost to Pacific, leaving the door open for Puget Sound.
 
The Loggers did not squander the opportunity, sweeping Lewis & Clark in the NWC finale to earn a share of the NWC title (Whitworth) and claim the automatic bid for the NCAA Championship.
 
Earlier this week the conference named Mark Massey the NWC Coach of the Year, while Avery Allemann and Logan Winn were both named to the All-NWC First Team.
 
Puget Sound and Trinity (Tex.) haven't gone head-to-head since 2015, when the Loggers came away with a 3-0 victory. This year's Trinity team leads the nation in blocks per set (2.86), and it is seventh nationally in attack-percentage (.258). Trinity has an overall record of 25-4, and it earned an at-large bid out of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Loggers are 20^th overall in NCAA D-III for blocks per set (2.13)