KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mount Mercy ended the regular season with five straight wins, and that winning streak has the Mustangs on the outer edge of the NAIA Division II top 25 poll in the final ranking of the year.

Wins last week over 14th-ranked Grand View and Ashford, another team receiving votes in the coaches' poll, propelled Mount Mercy to 27th this week. The Mustangs got 57 points in the poll, 17 fewer than Warner (Fla.), who sat just ahead of them in 26th. Evergreen State (Wash.) was 25th with 90 points. Grand View (22-7, 11-5 MCC) dropped two spots to 16th, while Ashford is still getting one vote from the nation's coaches.

Moving up in the poll increases Mount Mercy's chances of an at-large berth in the NAIA Division II national tournament. The Mustangs can earn an automatic berth by winning the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament. Third-seeded Mount Mercy opens postseason play against sixth-seeded William Penn (20-10, 9-7 MCC) in a Wednesday quarterfinal at 7:00 p.m. at Hennessey Recreation Center.