NAMPA, Idaho – Eighty-eight wins, three national tournament berths and one national tournament win.

That's a pretty good career for four Northwest Nazarene University seniors.

If Kendra Bodine, Madi Farrell, Hailey Cook and Jacquelyn Johnson get their way, though, they will add Regional Champion to their sterling resume.

"Winning at nationals last year was a super special moment," Cook said, "but my hopes are that our best moments are in the week to come."

NNU (24-4) faces Central Washington (19-9) at 1 p.m. MST on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division II National Championships in Riverside, Calif. The winner will play either Western Washington or Alaska Anchorage.

All matches will be broadcast live with live stats at www.cbulancers.com.

"Us seniors realize this might be our last game," Bodine said. "We are all excited and not ready to be done."

The group of seniors, including Mari Thomas who transferred to NNU before her junior season, will have to overcome a two-match losing streak at the end of the regular season to top Central. The teams split their regular-season matches with both winning in five sets on their respective home courts.

"It's kind of like a reset button starting with the postseason," Johnson said. "That (regular-season) title is no longer available, but the regional title is."

To win the regional title and advance to the Elite Eight, the Nighthawks will have to get past two conference foes – each of whom has defeated NNU this season.

"That was a huge hiccup in our track," said Farrell of the two late losses. "But when you look at the big picture, you realize how well we really did and I think that is what we have to hold onto.

"It is easy to dwell on past mistakes. It was definitely humbling in a way, but I think it has kicked us to a better direction for practice this week. We all want to end on a good note."

The experience of three trips to nationals will almost assuredly pay off for the Nighthawks, who have experienced a roller coaster in the postseason in their careers.

Their freshman year, NNU was the top seed and host of the regional tournament, but lost in four sets in the first round to Dixie State.

"Anything can happen really," Johnson said. "We lost our freshman year, but that is actually kind of encouraging knowing that a super good team like Cal Baptist is out there."

That brief experience in 2014 helped prepare the Nighthawks their junior season for the postseason, which saw them earn the first NCAA Division II playoff victory in program history.

NNU defeated Simon Fraser in four sets, a team that had swept the Nighthawks twice during the regular season.

"I think that shows what we can do at nationals," Bodine said, "and how clutch some of our players can be."

NNU ended up falling to host Alaska Anchorage in five sets in the second round, but that experience still helped pave the way for a strong senior season and the potential for an even deeper run this year.

"The last two years have been super special," Farrell said. "I don't think a lot of people get this kind of opportunity. We are ready to go and hopefully will play as hard and as good as we can."