KANSAS CITY, MO - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the Volleyball National Championship Opening Round matches for the 32nd annual event. The top-11 teams, in addition to host school Morningside (Iowa), will receive a bye, while the other 24 qualifying teams will play in the Opening Round matches on Nov. 19. All matches will be played at on-campus sites.
The Pioneers have been matched up with
Bellevue University (NE) for their Opening Round match. The game will be played at Bellevue on Saturday the 19th at 1:00 PM. MNU qualified for the National Tournament by winning the HAAC Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday. The Pioneers are 28-7 on the season and are receiving votes in the latest national top-25 coaches poll. Bellevue is 29-6 and ranked 21st in the country. The teams played a match early this season with the Bruins handing the Pioneers a 4-set loss in Olathe.
The winners of the National Championship Opening Round matches will advance to the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, location of the NAIA National Championship presented by CNOS Foundation Nov. 29 - Dec. 3.
The following teams have received an opening round bye: Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Biola (Calif.), Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Lee (Ten.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Morningside (Iowa), Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Southern Oregon and Texas at Brownsville.
The final 24 teams will be placed into six pools and will play round-robin pool play Nov. 29 - Dec. 1, with the top-two teams from each pool advancing to the single-elimination bracket starting Dec. 2. The championship match will take place at on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. CST in Sioux City.
NeuLion is the NAIA's Digital Media Partner and official video-streaming company of 10 select NAIA National Championship events. Select matches from the NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site will be streamed: single-elimination play, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship final. All of these matches can be streamed live for $14.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95. For more information, go to www.WatchNAIA.com.
For more information on the National Championship Opening Round, click
here.
