Sioux City hosts the Great Plains Conference softball tournament beginning Thursday and city rivals Morningside and Briar Cliff meet in the opening round. Morningside is the top seed. After setting a school record with 42 wins in 2006 coach Jessica Sitzmann’s team enters the post season with a 40-9 mark after winning the GPAC regular season title.

Sitzmann says they had a lot of returning players with something to prove from last year. They added in some new players and she says it has been a fun group. The winner gets an automatic trip to the NAIA region tournament but there are some at large bids available. She says they need to finish in the top three to have a chance.

Sitzmann says her team has momentum heading into the tournament, and they want to try and maintain that.  Morningside swept the season series with Briar Cliff but Sitzmann expects a tough game. Sitzmann says they’re quick and put the ball in play. Northwestern is the second seed in the tournament and takes a 30-15 record into a first round matchup against Hastings of Nebraska.