Bruins to host Lincoln Christian in NAIA Opening Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The 44-team event will get underway with 12 National Championship Opening Round Matches at campus locations on Nov. 18.

The Bruins return to the National Tournament for the second-straight season and the ninth time in the last 11 years.  Bellevue (28-11), ranked No. 21 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll, will host Lincoln Christian (Ill.) University (17-19) on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Ticket prices for the match will be $5 for adults, $3 for college students, and free for K-12 students. The only passes that will be accepted are NAIA Member Passes.

The Bruins are making their 10th appearance (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017) in the National Tournament and this will be the seventh time that BU has played an Opening Round match. In its previous six Opening Round matches, BU has posted a record of 4-2, advancing to Sioux City on four occasions.

The top 19 seeds and championship host, Morningside, automatically advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa. Action inside the Tyson Events Center starts with three days of pool play from Nov. 28 – Nov. 30. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on Dec. 1, and the National Champion will be crowned Dec. 2 with the first serve set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

The field features 34 automatic qualifiers, nine at-large selections, and one host berth (Morningside). The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups. The remaining at-large bids were determined based on the final regular season Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll announced Monday.

The NAIA Network – the association's official video streaming home – will broadcast all 63 matches (including 48 pool-play matches) live at the 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, 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, and an all-championship package is available at $39.95.

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)