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By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Opening Round Pairings |Schedule) The 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship, presented by J&L Enterprises, will kick off action Saturday with 12 Opening Round matches. The Opening Round champions join the 11 teams that received a bye based on seeding and host Briar Cliff (Iowa) for the 24-team final site in Sioux City, Iowa, from Dec. 2 – 6.
The final site pool play schedule will be announced on Sunday by 5 p.m. CST on www.NAIA.org.
The following teams all received byes to the final site: Biola (Calif.), Briar Cliff, Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Grand View (Iowa), Midland (Neb.), Missouri Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Park (Mo.), Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Texas at Brownsville and Viterbo (Wis.). These programs, 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. 16.
Six of the top 11 also enjoyed a bye in 2013 – Biola, Columbia, Concordia, Midland, Northwestern and Texas at Brownsville.
College of Idaho is hosting an Opening Round match for the fifth-straight season, which is the longest active hosting streak in NAIA volleyball. The Coyotes (19-11) join Bellevue (Neb.) as the only schools in Opening Round history to serve as a host five-or-more consecutive times when they welcome Cal State San Marcos on Saturday. College of Idaho, which is 4-1 all-time in the Opening Round, received an automatic berth into the national championship after winning the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 3-2 win over Concordia (Ore.) on Nov. 15.
Since the Opening Round format was established in 2008, host institutions own a 59-13 (.819) record, including a 9-3 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.
Coastal Georgia, Davenport (Mich.), Eastern Oregon, Georgetown (Ky.), Indiana Wesleyan, Jamestown (N.D.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Madonna (Mich.), Southern Oregon, Vanguard (Calif.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas) will also serve as hosts on Nov. 22.
Mid-South Conference Tournament champion Georgetown is the most seasoned among the Opening Round participants. The Tigers are making their 17th trip to the national championship, including a runner-up finish at the 2009 event. Georgetown has hosted three-consecutive years including 2014.
Four of the 12 matches on Saturday feature teams that have played once previously in 2014, highlighted by Embry-Riddle (Fla.) at Coastal Georgia. The Eagles, who are making their fifth all-time and fifth-straight national championship appearance after winning The Sun Conference tournament, handed Coastal Georgia its only regular-season loss of the season, 3-2, on Oct. 1. The Mariners will look to avenge that loss Saturday at 2 p.m. EST.
Madonna (Mich.) boasts a 36-7 record, which is the most wins among the 24-team Opening Round field. The Crusaders host Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament champions Union (Ky.) at 1 p.m. EST. Five other Opening Round participants own at least 30 wins on the season – Coastal Georgia (34), Davenport (34), Indiana Wesleyan (32), Lindsey Wilson (32) and Union (30).
No team that has played in an Opening Round match has ever won the national title. Wayland Baptist in 2013 and former-member Lee (Tenn.) in 2009 are the only teams to have reached the semifinals after playing on the opening weekend.
None of the 2014 Opening Round teams have won a national championship. Three teams that have advanced to the final site have won at least one previous banner: Columbia (3), Concordia (1) and Texas at Brownsville (2). Former-member Brigham Young-Hawaii holds the most in NAIA history with eight.
Twenty-two teams return from the 2013 national championship, including 10 of the 12 programs that advanced out of pool play at last year’s event. The group is highlighted by defending national champion Texas at Brownsville. The Ocelots, who enter the event ranked No. 5 in latest Coaches’ Poll, are vying to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since former-member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) won four-straight from 2007-2010.
Two teams punched their first-ever ticket into the national championship – Coastal Georgia and Eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon welcomes Menlo (Calif.) with first-serve scheduled for 6 p.m. PST.
Second-ranked Park (Mo.) enters the final site 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 claims a championship field-best four programs at this year’s event – College of Idaho, Concordia (Ore.), Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon. The AMC, Golden State Athletic Conference and Great Plains Athletic Conference boast the next most teams with three programs each.
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.
2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round Pairings
Saturday, Nov. 22 | Campus Sites | All times local to host site
Match 1: Xavier (La.) (20-5) at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (32-3), 6:30 p.m.
Match 2: Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (17-24) at Davenport (Mich.) (34-7), 7:30 p.m.
Match 3: Menlo (Calif.) (17-10) at Eastern Oregon (26-4), 6 p.m.
Match 4: Point Park (Pa.) (27-15) at Georgetown (Ky.) (28-10), 7:30 p.m.
Match 5: Union (Ky.) (30-9) at Madonna (Mich.) (36-7), 1 p.m.
Match 6: College of the Ozarks (Mo.) (16-14) at Southern Oregon (22-5), 12 p.m.
Match 7: Kansas Wesleyan (28-9) at Jamestown (N.D.) (24-6), 2 p.m.
Match 8: Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (28-17) at Indiana Wesleyan (32-7), 3 p.m.
Match 9: Evangel (Mo.) (25-11) at Wayland Baptist (Texas) (23-9), 7 p.m.
Match 10: Concordia (Ore.) (19-9) at Vanguard (Calif.) (22-11), 7 p.m.
Match 11: Cal State San Marcos (27-10) at College of Idaho (19-11), 2 p.m.
Match 12: Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (21-9) at Coastal Georgia (34-1), 2 p.m.
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