With a 3-0 sweep over Southeast Missouri in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship, the UTM Skyhawks advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Skyhawks (24-5) will play the third-ranked University of Nebraska (28-1) in the first round of the tournament in Lincoln, Neb.

Play begins at 7 p.m. Friday in Nebraska Coliseum. The winner will advance to the second round against the winner of the Cincinnati-Arizona State match.

This is the 19th appearance by the Huskers in the NCAA tournament while UTM is making its first appearance. Nebraska has a 51-18 record in NCAA tournament play. The Huskers lost to Stanford 3-0 in last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinals.

Nebraska is led by senior Amber Holmquist with a .405 hitting percentage. She also added 2.12 blocks per game. Senior setter Greichaly Cepero leads the team with 12.45 assists per game and is second all-time at Nebraska with 3,824 career assists.

The Huskers only loss this season came against Southern California, 3-0, at the Ball State Tournament.

The Skyhawks will be counting on the experience of six seniors to step up and play a big part in the tournament. Senior Natalie Klevan leads the team with a 3.15 kills per game and leads the team with 766 total attacks.

Lindsey Nicknair has picked up 1281 assists on the season, averaging 12.68 per game.

Senior Lindsey stock has a .358 hitting percentage with 2.91 kills per game.

Rachel Ahlers is averaging 1.54 blocks per game and has a .342 hitting percentage.

The Skyhawks are on a 10-game winning streak heading into the tournament.

This is the first meeting between UTM and the Huskers. For live action, check out http://www.huskers.com for live audio and video feeds from the tournament.