COLBY, Kan. – Following their second-straight NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Plains District Title on Sunday, the Barton Community College volleyball team learned of its NJCAA D1 Volleyball National Tournament seeding and first-round opponent on Wednesday, as the Cougars have earned the number five overall seed in the 16-team National Tournament field.

Entering the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament on a 14-match winning streak under first-year head coach Jim Cartisser, Barton was rewarded for their 31-5 overall record by earning the number five overall seed in the tournament that will take place November 19-22 inside the Dunn Center on the campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.

As the number five seed, the Cougars will open their national tournament run with a 7 PM (CST) first-serve against number 12 seed Snow College (UT) in the first round as one of the final two matches on the opening day of the four-day tournament. The Badgers were Rocky Mountain District A Champions after winning matches over the College of Southern Idaho and Eastern Arizona College to earn their spot in the National Tournament with a 14-14 overall record. Opposite of the Barton/Snow opening round matchup is a match featuring the number four seed Northeastern Junior College and number 13 seed Eastern Arizona College, with Plainswomen and Gila Monsters also set to face off at 7 PM on Wednesday. The winners of the two matches will play in a quarterfinal round matchup at 7 PM on Thursday night, while the two losers will play an elimination round matchup at 1 PM on Thursday.

Of the 16 teams to make the NJCAA D1 Volleyball National Tournament field, Barton has faced off against seven of the other 15 teams that qualified, including previous matchups with both Northeastern Junior College (3-0 defeat on September 13) and Eastern Arizona (3-1 loss on August 29). The Cougars have also played number one Miami Dade (3-0 loss on August 30), number eight Odessa College (3-0 loss on September 12), number 10 New Mexico Military (3-1 win on August 30 and 3-1 win on September 5), number 11 Frank Phillips (3-1 win on September 5), and number 15 seed Casper College (3-0 win on September 6).

Last season, Barton advanced to the NJCAA D1 Volleyball National Tournament semifinals before falling to Miami Dade College and finishing fourth following a defeat to Colby Community College in the third-place match.