MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's volleyball team will take a four-hour trip to Oshkosh, Wis., later this week to face familiar in-state opponent Dubuque in the first round of the NCAA Division III Regional Volleyball Tournament.  
 
Coach Jeff Meeker's No. 7 seed Rams (19-10) play No. 2 seed and 18th-ranked Dubuque (25-4) at 2 p.m. Thursday in a regional quarterfinal at Kolf Sports Center.
 
Cornell dropped a competitive home opener to the Spartans Sept. 3 in four sets by scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-18 and 27-25.  
 
The reigning 13-time regular-season champions of the Midwest Conference, the Rams return to the 64-team NCAA field for the 12th time in 15 years. Cornell earned an automatic berth with Saturday's 3-1 win over Lawrence in the MWC Tournament title match.
 
Thursday's other regional first-round matchups feature 17th-ranked Wash U (22-8) vs. Saint Benedict (21-6) at 11:30 a.m., 23rd-ranked Gustavus Adolphus (23-7) vs. Edgewood (25-6) at 4:30 p.m., and fourth-ranked and host UW-Oshkosh (28-3) vs. Greenville (24-10) at 7 p.m.
 
The Cornell-Dubuque winner advances to play the Wash U/Saint Benedict winner at 4:30 p.m. Friday, followed by the second semifinal at 7 p.m. The championship match is 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
The region champion advances to the NCAA Elite 8, held Dec. 3-6 in Bloomington, Ill. Complete pairings can be found at the 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket.
 
The Rams carry a seven-match winning streak into the regional. Eight of the team's 10 losses this season came against 2025 NCAA qualifiers. Cornell is 0-3 against the regional field with 3-1 setbacks to Dubuque, Saint Benedict and Gustavus Adolphus – all within a 10-day span in September.  
 
Cornell is 3-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams lost 3-0 to Millikin in last year's region quarterfinal in Holland, Mich. Cornell reached the region semifinal in 2023. The Rams made their deepest NCAA run in 2014, advancing to the Sweet 16.  
 
The Rams charged through the MWC regular season with an 8-0 record. They landed six all-conference selections, led by first teamers in senior libero Ella Becker, junior setter Nia Howard, sophomore middle blocker Ally Olmstead and first-year middle blocker Selia Stein. Junior Mia Tubbs and first-year Hannah Cantwell were second team selections.
 
Cornell ranks 37th nationally in team total blocks. Howard stands No. 8 in Division III in service aces (77) and Stein No. 10 in total blocks (122).
 
The Rams have won five of the last six series meetings with Dubuque, which earned an at-large berth. The Spartans claimed the American Rivers Conference title with an 8-0 mark. They lost 3-1 to Coe in the championship match of the A-R-C Tournament.