KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (
Watch Video Announcement) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the qualifying teams and opening round matchups for the 2022 NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship. The 48-team event will get underway with 24 National Championship Opening Round matches at campus locations on Saturday, Nov. 19.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference saw three teams qualify with No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon University grabbing one of the conference’s two automatic qualifiers (AQ) as the regular-season champion. No. 4-ranked Corban University grabbed the CCC’s second AQ as the conference tournament runner-up, while (RV) Southern Oregon University picked up an at-large bid.
All three teams will host their Opening Round matchups with the Mounties hosting Mobile (Ala.), the Warriors hosting Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) and the Raiders hosting William Jessup (Calif.).
After opening rounds, the action at the final site inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa starts with three days of pool play from November 30 – December 2. The top team in each three-team pool will advance to the elimination bracket on Saturday, December 3, the semifinals will be played on Monday, December 5 and the national champion will be crowned Tuesday, December 6 with the first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.
This year's field includes 36 automatic qualifiers and 12 at-large selections. The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions or runner-ups, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups, or by conference selection. A selection committee determined the remaining at-large bids made up of administrators and coaches from around the country. The final site pools will be determined on Sunday, November 20, and released by 5 p.m. CST.
The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches excluding the championship match live at the 2022 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto 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 (November 30 – December 2) and a championship package is available at $39.95. The championship match includes all pool play, quarterfinal and semifinal matches.
Qualifier Highlights
- The Great Plains Athletic Conference brings in the highest number of qualifiers to the field with seven qualifying teams: College of Saint Mary (Neb.), Concordia (Neb.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Hastings (Neb.), Jamestown (N.D.), Midland (Neb.) and Northwestern (Iowa).
- There are 4 teams in the 2022 championship field that are qualifying for the first time: William Jessup (Calif.), Philander Smith (Ark.), Cumberland (Tenn.) and John Brown (Ark.).
- There are 16 teams in the 2022 field that are making their 10th or more appearance in the national championship: Bellevue (Neb.), College of Saint Mary (Neb.), Columbia (Mo.), Hastings (Neb.), Indiana Wesleyan, IU Kokomo (Ind.), Jamestown (N.D.), Missouri Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Ottawa (Kan.), Park (Mo.), Southern Oregon, Texas Wesleyan, Viterbo (Wis.), Westmont (Calif.) and Xavier (La.).
- Columbia (Mo.) is the only team with more than 20 appearances in the 2022 championship field with 28. The Cougars also hold the highest number of all-time appearances in tournament history.
- The defending two-time national champion, Missouri Baptist returns to the championship field as the American Midwest Conference tournament champion.
- There are five teams in the 2022 field that have previously won a title: Columbia (Mo.), Hastings (Neb.), Marian (Ind.), Missouri Baptist and Park (Mo.)
- Columbia (Mo.), Missouri Baptist and Park (Mo.) are the only teams in the tournament field to have won more than one title. Columbia (Mo.) has four titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015), Missouri Baptist has two (2020, 2021) and Park (Mo.) has two titles (2014-2018).
- Thirty-one teams that qualified for the 2022 national championship also competed in the 2021 championship.
- SAGU (Texas) enters the 2022 championship field as the only team with an undefeated, 32-0, record.
- St. Thomas (Fla.) returns to the championship field after nearly 20 years since their last appearance in 2003.
2022 Qualifiers
| Team |
Qualification |
Appearances |
Last Qualified |
| Bellevue (Neb.) |
At-Large |
15 |
2021 |
| Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Regular-Season Champions |
2 |
2020 |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
At-Large |
4 |
2021 |
| Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Regular-Season & Tournament Champions |
2 |
2021 |
| Bryan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
5 |
2021 |
| Campbellsville (Ky.) |
Mid-South Conference Regular-Season Champions |
3 |
2017 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
At-Large |
5 |
2021 |
| College of Saint Mary (Neb.) |
At-Large |
11 |
2021 |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference Regular-Season Champions |
28 |
2021 |
| Columbia International (S.C.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
2 |
2021 |
| Concordia (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
5 |
2021 |
| Corban (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
7 |
2021 |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
7 |
2021 |
| Cumberland (Tenn.) |
Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
At-Large |
3 |
2021 |
| Eastern Oregon |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
9 |
2021 |
| Florida College |
Continental Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
2 |
2021 |
| Hastings (Neb.) |
At-Large |
14 |
2018 |
| Indiana Tech |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
5 |
2011 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
At-Large |
11 |
2021 |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
River States Conference Tournament Champion |
10 |
2021 |
| Jamestown (N.D.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
10 |
2021 |
| John Brown (Ark.) |
At-Large |
1 |
NA |
| Kansas Wesleyan |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
3 |
2014 |
| Marian (Ind.) |
Crossroads League Tournament Runner-Up |
6 |
2021 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
7 |
2020 |
| Midland (Neb.) |
At-Large |
9 |
2021 |
| Missouri Baptist |
American Midwest Conference Tournamnet Champion |
14 |
2021 |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
8 |
2020 |
| Montana Tech |
At-Large |
7 |
2021 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) |
At-Large |
18 |
2021 |
| Ottawa (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions |
10 |
2021 |
| Park (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
10 |
2021 |
| Park Gilbert (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion |
2 |
2021 |
| Philander Smith (Ark.) |
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Point Park (Pa.) |
River States Conference Regular-Season Champions |
4 |
2015 |
| Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
Frontier Conference Tournament Champion |
8 |
2020 |
| SAGU (Texas) |
Sooner Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
2 |
2021 |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament No. 1 Seed |
7 |
2021 |
| Southern Oregon |
At-Large |
12 |
2019 |
| St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
7 |
2010 |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) |
The Sun Conference Tournament Champions |
5 |
2003 |
| Taylor (Ind.) |
Crossroads League Regular-Season and Tournament Champions |
8 |
2011 |
| Texas Wesleyan |
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
14 |
2021 |
| Viterbo (Wis.) |
North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion |
10 |
2021 |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions |
16 |
2021 |
| William Jessup (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Xavier (La.) |
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
12 |
2021 |
Opening Round Matchups
| Visitor |
|
Host |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
at |
Eastern Oregon |
| St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
at |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
| Indiana Tech |
at |
Midland (Neb.) |
| Florida College |
at |
Concordia (Neb.) |
| Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
at |
Corban (ore.) |
| Kansas Wesleyan |
at |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
| Bryan (Tenn.) |
at |
Missouri Baptist |
| Philander Smith (Ark.) |
at |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
| Xavier (La.) |
at |
SAGU (Texas) |
| Point Park (Pa.) |
at |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
| Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) |
at |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
| Campbellsville (Ky.) |
at |
Taylor (Ind.) |
| Cumberland (Tenn.) |
at |
Park (Mo.) |
| John Brown (Ark.) |
at |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
at |
College of Saint Mary (Neb.) |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) |
at |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
at |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
| Park Gilbert (Ariz.) |
at |
Marian (Ind.) |
| Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
at |
Indian Wesleyan |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
at |
Montana Tech |
| Ottawa (Kan.) |
at |
Columbia (Mo.) |
| William Jessup (Calif.) |
at |
Southern Oregon |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
at |
Columbia International (S.C.) |
| Texas Wesleyan |
at |
Hastings (Neb.) |