INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- For a third straight year, the Tusculum College volleyball team has earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Pioneers (18-12) will be the sixth seed in this year's Southeast Regional and will face No. 3 seed Armstrong Atlantic State University (35-2) this Friday at noon in an opening round match.

Wingate University will be top-seed and will serve as host of the Southeast Regional for a fourth straight year. The Bulldogs will open against eighth-seeded Lees-McRae College. Flagler College is the No. 2 seed and they will face seventh-seeded Newberry College in the opening round. No. 4 Catawba College and No. 5 Lincoln Memorial University comprise the remainder of the eight-team, single-elimination regional.

The winner of the Tusculum/Armstrong match will play the winner between Flagler and Newberry in Saturday's first semifinal

"Going to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year is very special," said Tusculum head coach Michael Robinson. "Our players have shown a lot of heart and determination this year and I'm proud of how they play the game the way it is supposed to be played."

The Pioneers and Pirates will be meeting for the second time this season. Armstrong posted a 3-0 win over Tusculum on Oct. 15 in Savannah, Ga. Despite the three-set sweep, the match was only decided by a combined nine points.

"Our team is looking forward to playing Armstrong again," added Robinson. "Armstrong has a good team and a fine program and it should be a great volleyball match on Friday."

Official match times will be announced on Monday.

- NCAA -

2011 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Cuddy Arena - Wingate, N.C.
Friday, November 18, 2011
No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic (35-2) vs. No. 6 Tusculum (18-12), Noon
No. 2 Flagler (28-6) vs. No. 7 Newberry (16-15), 2:30 p.m.
No. 4 Catawba (23-7) vs. No. 5 Lincoln Memorial (22-6), 5 p.m.
No. 1 Wingate (30-0) vs. No. 8 Lees-McRae (27-8), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tusculum/Armstrong winner vs. Flagler/Newberry winner, 4 p.m.
Wingate/Lees-McRae winner vs. Catawba/LMU winner, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 20, 2011
Regional Final, 4 p.m.

December 1-3, 2011
NCAA Division II Elite Eight (Host and Site TBD)