KANSAS CITY, Mo. (uj.edu) — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The 44-team event will get underway with 12 National Championship Opening Round matches at campus locations on Nov. 17.
The University of Jamestown will return to the National Tournament for the third straight season and sixth time since 2010. The Jimmies, ranked 24th in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, earned an at-large bid and will host Haskell (Kan.) Indian Nations University Saturday, November 17 at 3 p.m.
The top 19 seeds and championship host Morningside (Iowa) automatically advance to the national championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. Action inside the Tyson Events Center starts with three days of pool play from Nov. 27 – 29. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on Nov. 30, and the national champion will be crowned Dec. 1 with first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.
This year’s field includes 33 automatic qualifiers, 10 at-large selections and one host berth (Morningside). The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups. The remaining at-large bids were determined by the final regular season Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll announced Monday. Final site pools will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 18, and released by 5 p.m. CST
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video-streaming home – will broadcast all 63 matches (including 48 pool-play matches) live at the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while a pool play pass is $24.95 (Nov. 28 – Dec. 1) and a championship package is available at $39.95. You can also buy an All-Championship pass and watch every championship streamed on the NAIA Network in 2018. Buy your All-Championship Pass today.
Opening Round Match-Ups
St. Xavier (Ill.) at IU Kokomo (Ind.)
IU Northwest (Ind.) at Ottawa (Kan.)
Brescia (Ky.) at Central Methodist (Mo.)
Xavier (La.) at Corban (Ore.)
Texas Wesleyan at McPherson (Kan.)
Haskell (Kan.) at Jamestown (N.D.)
Faulkner (Ala.) at Marian (Ind.)
Bellevue (Neb.) at Trinity Christian (Ill.)
St. Francis (Ind.) at Aquinas (Mich.)
Coastal Georgia at Reinhardt (Ga.)
Milligan (Tenn.) at Cornerstone (Mich.)
Wiley (Texas) at Oklahoma City
