INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Fresh off capturing the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship last Sunday, the Flagler College volleyball team earned the No. 5 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
The Saints (21-12), who swept the PBC regular season and tournament championships for the sixth time in the NCAA-era and for the first time since 2017, will square off with fourth-seeded Carson-Newman University of the South Atlantic Conference on Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m.
SAC champion Wingate University secured the region's No. 1 seed and will serve as tournament host.
In 12 national tournament appearances since becoming a NCAA Division II member in 2009, Flagler has won three Southeast Region championships and reached the Final Four in 2009. Flagler's last regional title came in 2017, when the Saints hosted the regional and beat Wingate 3-0 to advance to the Elite Eight.
Flagler is 2-1 all-time in the NCAA tournament against Carson-Newman (24-5). The teams last met in the postseason in 2022, when sixth-seeded Flagler swept third-seeded Carson-Newman in the NCAA first round. The Saints advanced all the way to the regional final that year, eventually falling to host Wingate.
Flagler enters the NCAA tournament powered by a late season run that saw the Saints go 13-1 over their final 14 matches, including a string of 10 straight wins. The Saints earned a share of the PBC regular season title before taking down Lander in an epic five-set PBC Tournament final in St. Augustine.
The Saints feature five all-conference selections, including PBC Setter of the Year, Clare Sheedy, and PBC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Marley Middlebrooks. Both Sheedy and Middlebrooks landed on the All-PBC first team.
They were joined by second team All-PBC selections Cassidy Bloom, Gracie Fleming, and Katherine Rank. The five all-conference selections are a program record.
Head coach Jeff Reynolds earned PBC Coach of the Year honors in his first season at the helm for the Saints. Reynolds has won three of the last four PBC Coach of the Year honors, the previous two at Lander, where he helped turn that program into a national contender.
Carson-Newman is making its 19th trip to the NCAA tournament and its first since 2022. The Eagles won the Southeast Region title in 2019 and are 9-9 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
Carson-Newman boasts two first team All-SAC performers in Emerson Ahsmuhs and Maddie Hurst. Blair Cherry (second team) and Annie Dziczkowski (third team) also earned All-SAC nods. The Eagles finished the regular season tied for third in the SAC and fell to eventual champion Wingate in the conference semifinals.
The Saints and Eagles will play one of four first round games on Dec. 4 in Cuddy Arena.
Flagler was one of three PBC teams to qualify for the regional. Augusta University landed the sixth seed and will take on third seed Anderson. No. 7 Lander matches up with second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne.
Southeast Regional
Hosted by Wingate University, Wingate, N.C. – Dec. 4-6
No. 1 Wingate University (28-2) vs. No. 8 Emmanuel University (22-9)
No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne University (20-5) vs. No. 7 Lander University (20-10)
No. 3 Anderson University (21-7) vs. No. 6 Augusta University (25-8)
No. 4 Carson Newman University (24-5) vs. No. 5 Flagler College (21-12)
CONNECT WITH THE SAINTS: Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube
DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE SAINTS TEAM: Sign up for Newsletter
Flagler's history in the NCAA Southeast Regional
2009 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Lees-McRae, 3-2
def. Armstrong Atlantic, 3-1
def. Wingate, 3-1
2010 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Armstrong Atlantic, 3-1
def. Carson-Newman, 3-0
lost to Wingate, 0-3
2011 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Newberry, 3-0
def. Armstrong, 3-0
def. Wingate, 3-2
2012 (at Savannah, Ga.)
lost to Newberry, 1-3
2013 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Queens, 3-0
lost to Armstrong, 2-3
2015 (at Aiken, S.C.)
lost to Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-3
2016 (at Aiken, S.C.)
def. Lander, 3-0
lost to Queens, 2-3
2017 (at St. Augustine, Fla.)
def. Barton, 3-0
def. Anderson, 3-2
def. Wingate, 3-0
2019 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Queens, 3-0
lost to Carson-Newman, 1-3
2021 (at Anderson, S.C.)
lost to Wingate. 0-3
2022 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Carson-Newman, 3-0
def. Augusta, 3-2
lost to Wingate, 0-3
2024 (at Wingate, N.C.)
def. Anderson, 3-0
lost to Lander, 2-3
