GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles will host St. Thomas out of Miami Gardens, Florida for the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. The single playoff match will determine what team will join 23 other programs in Sioux City, Iowa from November 30-December 6. For information on Saturday's game visit the links below. 

Opponent: St. Thomas (Fla.)
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Mol Arena)  
Date: Saturday, November 19
Time: 1 p.m. EST
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How We Got Here?
The Golden Eagles earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round winning the WHAC Regular Season Title. CU also won the WHAC Tournament Title in a thriller vs. Indiana Tech, but that auto bid remains with the Warriors, due to Cornerstone already having one. Indiana Tech and Cornerstone will be the only two teams from the WHAC represented in the National Tournament with Indiana Tech traveling to Midland (Neb.), the same team CU played a year ago in the NAIA Opening Round. 
 
St. Thomas History
Cornerstone and St. Thomas have a recent familiarity with one another as the Bobcats traveled to CU for a tournament just a season ago. Many of the current CU and STU players have familiarity with each other from that match as CU fell in straight sets, 3-0. All-time, Cornerstone has played St. Thomas twice, with the only other meeting in 2015 at STU in Miami Gardens, Florida. 
 
History in the Tournament 
Cornerstone will enter the NAIA National Tournament for the seventh time in program history with six of those appearances being in five of the last six years. Of the six appearances so far, Cornerstone has made the final site in Sioux City, Iowa twice in the 2004 season and the 2017 season. 
 
Scouting St. Thomas 
The Bobcats are entering the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2005 after winning their conference tournament over Keiser in straight sets to earn an automatic bid. St. Thomas has gone 19-5 on the year as they have a veteran team that is very good at the net. The players to watch for STU are the 5-6 outside hitter Amanda Allende who leads the team with 281 kills. Despite her size, she has an incredible ability to get above the net and be a factor on the offensive end. Sana Dennis is another player to watch out of the middle, as she stands at 6-1 and leads the team with 66 blocks. STU looks to repeat what they did a year ago and defeat CU in Mol Arena. 
 
Volleyball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
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