V-Hawks Host Bryan College in Opening Round
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The NAIA has released the pairings for the 2023 Women's Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round games, and Viterbo University is set to host Bryan College (Tenn.) on Saturday, November 18 at 6 PM.
The V-Hawks, ranked #5 in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll, qualified for the tournament with an automatic bid for winning the North Star Athletic Association Conference Tournament. It was Viterbo's ninth straight NSAA Tournament Title, their 10th conference tournament championship in a row (MCC-2014), their 11th trip to the national tournament in 12 years, and their 14th appearance in program history.
Bryan College earned a spot in the tournament after taking second in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament. The league is large enough to garner two automatic bids. The Lions went 22-10 on the year, and earned three All-AAC selections. This is Bryan's sixth appearance in the championship tournament, with their most recent appearance coming in 2022. They are 0-5 all-time.
The 24 opening-round winners on Nov. 18 will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, on Nov. 29-Dec. 5.
This year's championship field includes 34 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, regular-season championship, or finished runner-up at the conference tournament as determined by each conference qualification plan. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Women's Volleyball Selection Committee. The selection committee consists of coaches and administrators from around the country.
All NAIA Championship Opening Round matches will be video streamed by the host.
The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches, excluding the semifinal and championship matches, live at the 2023 NAIA Volleyball Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto Sports, 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 29 – December 1), and a championship package, which includes pool play and quarterfinal matches. The semifinals on December 4 and the championship on December 5 will be streamed on ESPN3. The links will be found on the schedule at a closer date.
The 24-team championship final site pool play matchups will be announced on Sunday, November 19, on NAIA.org by 5 p.m.
For the full opening round schedule, click here.