BU earns at-large bid to Nationals; Travels to Trinity Christian in Opening Round
The Bruins earned an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships and will travel to Palos Heights, Ill. on Saturday, Nov. 17 for a 1 p.m. match at Trinity Christian University.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The 44-team event will get underway with 12 National Championship Opening Round Matches at campus locations on Nov. 17.
The Bruins return to the National Tournament for the third-straight season and the 10th time in the last 12 years. Bellevue (23-11), ranked No. 25 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, earned an at-large bid and will travel to Palos Heights, Ill. on Saturday, Nov. 17 for an opening-round matchup at Trinity Christian University. The match time has not yet been determined.
The Bruins are making their 11th appearance (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) in the National Tournament and this will be the eighth time that BU has played an Opening Round match. In its previous six Opening Round matches, BU has posted a record of 5-2, advancing to Sioux City on five 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. 27 – Nov. 29. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on Nov. 30, and the National Champion will be crowned Dec. 1 with the first serve set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
The field features 33 automatic qualifiers, 10 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 2018 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 (Nov. 28 – Dec. 1) and a championship package is available at $39.95. You can also buy an All-Championship pass and watch every championship streamed on the NAIA Network in 2018. Buy your All-Championship Pass today.
Opening Round Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 17 | Campus Sites
St. Xavier (Ill.) at IU Kokomo (Ind.)
IU Northwest (Ind.) at Ottawa (Kan.)
Brescia (Ky.) at Central Methodist (Mo.)
Xavier (La.) at Corban (Ore.)
Texas Wesleyan at McPherson (Kan.)
Haskell (Kan.) at Jamestown (N.D.)
Faulkner (Ala.) at Marian (Ind.)
Bellevue (Neb.) at Trinity Christian (Ill.)
St. Francis (Ind.) at Aquinas (Mich.)
Coastal Georgia at Reinhardt (Ga.)
Milligan (Tenn.) at Cornerstone (Mich.)
Wiley (Texas) at Oklahoma City