The NAIA has officially announced the 44 teams that will compete in the 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championships. The tournament is set to begin with the 12 opening round matches on November 18 at various college campus locations around the country.
The top-19 seeds along with the championship host Morningside (Iowa) move directly to the national championship field site which is in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center. During this stage of play, there will be three days of pool play from November 28-30 while the top-two teams from each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on December 1 with the finals to take place on December 2 that will be aired on ESPN3 at 7 PM CST.
This year’s competition features 33 automatic qualifier teams, 10 at-large selections and the host. The automatic berths were determined by regular-season champions, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups. The remaining at-large bids were determined by the final regular-season Top-25 poll.
All matches will be streamed on the NAIA Network.
There are 27 teams back in the tournament from the 2016 edition, including last seasons national champion, Hastings (Neb). Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) has remained unbeaten all year, earning themselves the #1 seed in the tournament, this is their sixth appearance in the tournament.
2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Qualifiers
Team | Qualification | Season Record | Appearances | Last Time | Titles |
Bellevue (Neb.) | At-large Bid | 28-11 | 10 | 2016 | 0 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) | At-large Bid | 26-8 | 2 | 2007 | 0 |
College of Idaho | Cascade Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 24-6 | 12 | 2015 | 0 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) | AII Conference Tournament Champion | 30-6 | 5 | 2016 | 0 |
Columbia (Mo.) | AMC Regular Season Champion | 33-6 | 24 | 2016 | 4 |
Corban (Ore.) | Cascade Regular Season Champion | 24-7 | 2 | 2016 | 0 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) | WHAC Conference Tournament Champion | 26-7 | 3 | 2016 | 0 |
Dordt (Iowa) | GPAC Tournament Runner-Up | 29-6 | 13 | 2016 | 0 |
Eastern Oregon | At-large Bid | 22-9 | 4 | 2016 | 0 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Cal Pac Conference Tournament Winner | 28-3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Georgetown (Ky.) | At-large Bid | 21-4 | 20 | 2016 | 0 |
Grand View | Heart Regular Season Champion | 31-7 | 7 | 2016 | 0 |
Hastings (Neb.) | GPAC Regular Season Champion | 25-2 | 12 | 2016 | 1 |
Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads Conference Touranment Winner | 27-10 | 7 | 2016 | 0 |
IU East (Ind.) | River States Conference Tournament Champion | 21-18 | 6 | 2013 | 0 |
IU Kokomo (Ind.) | River States Regular Season Champion | 30-9 | 3 | 2016 | 0 |
Jamestown (N.D.) | At-large Bid | 21-8 | 5 | 2016 | 0 |
Lincoln Christian (Ill.) | AII Conference Tournament Runner-UP | 17-19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion | 28-0 | 7 | 2016 | 0 |
Lourdes (Ohio) | WHAC Tournament Runner-Up | 21-11 | 4 | 2016 | 0 |
Madonna (Mich.) | At-large Bid | 29-4 | 17 | 2016 | 0 |
Marian (Ind.) | Crossroads Regular Season Champion | 27-5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Midland (Neb.) | At-large Bid | 19-9 | 5 | 2016 | 0 |
Missouri Baptist | At-large Bid | 29-8 | 9 | 2016 | 0 |
Missouri Valley | Heart Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 32-8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Mobile (Ala.) | Southern States Regular Season Champion | 38-3 | 6 | 2015 | 0 |
Montana Tech | Frontier Conference Tournament Champion | 22-8 | 4 | 2016 | 0 |
Morningside (Iowa) | Host Bid | 18-12 | 6 | 2016 | 0 |
Northwest (Wash.) | At-large Bid | 22-8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Northwestern (Iowa) | At-large Bid | 28-4 | 13 | 2014 | 0 |
Oklahoma City | Sooner Conference Tournament Champion | 23-6 | 3 | 2016 | 0 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Conference Tournament Champion | 23-8 | 3 | 2016 | 0 |
Ottawa (Kan.) | KCAC Regular Season Champion | 29-10 | 5 | 2016 | 0 |
Park (Mo.) | AMC Conference Tournament Winner | 29-3 | 5 | 2016 | 1 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) | Appalachian Regular Season Champion | 29-6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) | Chicagoland Conference Tournament Champion | 34-4 | 4 | 2012 | 0 |
Tabor (Kan.) | KCAC Tournament Champion | 27-9 | 2 | 2016 | 0 |
Texas Wesleyan | Sooner Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 26-4 | 9 | 2005 | 0 |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) | Chicagoland Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 27-12 | 4 | 2015 | 0 |
Union (Ky.) | Appalachian Conference Tournament Winner | 31-10 | 6 | 2016 | 0 |
Viterbo (Wis.) | North Star Conference Tournament Champion | 33-1 | 5 | 2016 | 0 |
Webber International (Fla.) | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 25-5 | 3 | 2016 | 0 |
Westmont (Calif.) | GSAC Tournament Champion | 31-3 | 11 | 2016 | 0 |
Xavier (La.) | GCAC Tournament Champion | 23-2 | 7 | 2016 | 0 |
Opening Round Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 18 | Campus Sites
Match 1 – Campbellsville (Ky.) at Texas Wesleyan
Match 2 – College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at Ottawa (Kan.)
Match 3 – IU East (Ind.) at Missouri Valley
Match 4 – IU Kokomo (Ind.) at Indiana Wesleyan
Match 5 – Lincoln Christian (Ill.) at Bellevue (Neb.)
Match 6 – Marian (Ind.) at Xavier (La.)
Match 7 – Mobile (Ala.) at Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
Match 8 – Oklahoma City at Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
Match 9 – Reinhardt (Ga.) at Northwest (Wash.)
Match 10 – St. Xavier (Ill.) at Union (Ky.)
Match 11 – Trinity Christian (Ill.) at Tabor (Kan.)
Match 12 – Webber International (Fla.) at Lourdes (Ohio)
Leave a Reply