INDIANAPOLIS --- For a third straight week, the Tusculum volleyball team is listed fourth in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings. The Pioneers are one of five South Atlantic Conference teams listed in this week's poll.

The 10 teams in this week's poll are the same, but only Tusculum at No. 4 and Lincoln Memorial at No. 5 remain at the same ranking they had a week ago.

After spending the previous two weeks at third, Armstrong is the new top-ranked team in the Southeast. Previous top-ranked Wingate slips to second, while Flagler drops a spot to third.

Tusculum and LMU are fourth and fifth, respectively, while Lenoir-Rhyne climbed a spot and is sixth. Newberry is seventh, followed by Francis Marion, Augusta State and USC Aiken.

Tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. There will also be five at-large bids to the NCAA postseason, which begins Nov. 29 at campus sites.

The NCAA will announce the 64-team tournament field this Sunday at 10 p.m. and can be viewed at www.TusculumPioneers.com and www.NCAA.com. The NCAA II Elite Eight will be held Dec. 6-8 in Pensacola, Fla.

Tusculum (20-6, 14-4 SAC) is in quest of its fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth as the Pioneers are riding a seven-match winning streak entering this weekend's Food Lion SAC Volleyball Championship in Brevard, N.C. The No. 2 seed Pioneers will face seventh-seed Mars Hill on Friday at 5 p.m. in a quarterfinal round match.

- NCAA -

NCAA II Southeast Region Volleyball Ranking
Rk Team Prv.
1 Armstrong 3
2 Wingate 1
3 Flagler 2
4 TUSCULUM 4
5 Lincoln Memorial 5
6 Lenoir-Rhyne 7
7 Newberry 6
8 Francis Marion 10
9 Augusta State 8
10 USC Aiken 9

2012 Tusculum opponents in italics