KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Schedule | Video Announcement) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the pairings for the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. There will be 24 teams playing in 12 Opening Round matches at various campus locations on Nov. 22. The 11 top seeds and host Briar Cliff (Iowa) receive a bye and advance to play at the NAIA National Championship final site, presented by J&L Enterprises, in Sioux City, Iowa, starting Dec. 2.
The following teams have received an Opening Round bye: Biola (Calif.), Briar Cliff, Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Grand View (Iowa), Midland (Neb.), Missouri Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Park (Mo.), Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Texas at Brownsville. These teams, with the exception of Briar Cliff, were the top 11 teams in the final Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Six of the top 11 also enjoyed a bye in 2013 – Biola, Columbia, Concordia, Midland, Northwestern and Texas at Brownsville.
This year’s field includes 26 automatic qualifiers, nine at-large selections and one host berth (Briar Cliff). Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular season championship or finished runner-up at conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the final regular season NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier today.
College of Idaho is hosting an Opening Round match for the fifth-straight season. The Coyotes, who have won three-of-four matches during that stretch, welcome Cal State San Marcos to the J.A. Albertson Activities Center this season. Georgetown (Ky.) holds the next longest consecutive hosting streak at three-straight including 2014.
Since the Opening Round format was established in 2008, host institutions own a 59-13 (.819) record, including a 9-2 mark a season ago. Indiana Wesleyan, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Trinity Christian (Ill.) were the only clubs in 2013 to win on the road in the Opening Round.
Three qualifiers have won at least one national championship – Columbia (3), Texas at Brownsville (2) and Concordia (1).
Perennial contender Columbia (Mo.) is the active leader in both championship appearances at 21 and playoff wins with an 81-40 record. Seven teams have appeared in the national championship 10-or-more times – Biola (Calif.) (14), College of Idaho (10), Concordia (Calif.) (10), Georgetown (Ky.) (17), Madonna (Mich.) (14), Northwestern (Iowa) (12) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (10).
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament champion Coastal Georgia and Eastern Oregon, which claimed one of the nine at-large spots, are the only newcomers to the field this year. Last year, five newcomers participated in the event.
Park (Mo.) enters the national championship as the only unbeaten team remaining in NAIA volleyball. The Pirates (34-0) won both the American Midwest Conference (AMC) regular season and tournament titles en route to an automatic berth. Park has lost only two sets throughout the entire season and swept the last eight contests heading into the event.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference leads all leagues with four teams in the national championship field – College of Idaho, Concordia (Ore.), Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon – with each program participating in the Opening Round. The American Midwest Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference and Great Plains Athletic Conference boast the next most teams with three programs each.
The final 24 teams, which are comprised of the 12 Opening Round winners and the 12 teams with a bye, will be placed into six pools and compete in round-robin play at the national championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa, from Dec. 2 – 4. The top two teams from each pool advance to the single-elimination bracket, which starts Dec. 5. The semifinals and championship match are scheduled for Dec. 6.
The final site pools will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 23, and released by 5 p.m. CST.
NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming home, will broadcast all 47 matches live at the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, will include live statistics, social media interaction and be available on mobile-friendly devices. Single-championship packages can be purchased for $20, while an all-season pass (up to 17 championships during the 2014-15 season) is available for $75. For more information and to pre-register, click here.
For more information on the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round and National Championship final site, click here.
2013 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round Pairings
Saturday, Nov. 22 | Campus Sites
Match 1: Xavier (La.) (20-5) at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (32-3)
Match 2: Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (17-24) at Davenport (Mich.) (34-7)
Match 3: Menlo (Calif.) (17-10) at Eastern Oregon (26-4)
Match 4: Point Park (Pa.) (27-15) at Georgetown (Ky.) (28-10)
Match 5: Union (Ky.) (30-9) at Madonna (Mich.) (36-7)
Match 6: College of the Ozarks (Mo.) (16-14) at Southern Oregon (2-5)
Match 7: Kansas Wesleyan (28-9) at Jamestown (N.D.) (24-6)
Match 8: Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (28-17) at Indiana Wesleyan (32-7)
Match 9: Evangel (Mo.) (25-11) at Wayland Baptist (Texas) (23-9)
Match 10: Concordia (Ore.) (19-9) at Vanguard (Calif.) (22-11)
Match 11: Cal State San Marcos (27-10) at College of Idaho (19-11)
Match 12: Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (21-9) at Coastal Georgia (34-1)