River States Conference

Indiana University East Set for NAIA Volleyball National Championship

11/18/2011 12:00:00 AM

The IU East Red Wolves are set to open the NAIA National Championship at home against Freed-Hardeman. The match is scheduled for Saturday, November 19^th at 2:00 PM EST. IU East earned their spot in the national tournament by winning the KIAC Conference Tournament.

--- Release from NAIA ---

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Twenty-four teams will be in action at 12 on-campus locations across the country as part of the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round on Saturday. The winners will advance to the final site at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, presented by CNOS Foundation Nov. 29 - Dec. 3.

The final site Host school Morningside (Iowa) and the top-11 teams received a bye to the National Championship Final Site. The following teams 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.

In Caldwell, Idaho, No. 12 College of Idaho (23-3), the highest-ranked team to play in the Opening Round, hosts No. 23 Carroll (Mont.) (18-8). The Lady Yotes won the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular-season championship and boast the CCC Player of the Year in libero Whitney Brigham. The Saints finished in third place in the Frontier Conference and have beaten College of Idaho nine times in 15 meetings all-time.

No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan (34-4) will welcome Montreat (N.C.) (25-13) to Marian, Ind., as the Wildcats look to extend their winning streak to 17. Mid-Central College Conference (MCC) Coach of the Year Candace Moats led Indiana Wesleyan to a league tournament title. The Cavaliers enter play with a 10-match winning streak after capturing the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament championship.

An in-state battle will ensue between No. 14 Vanguard (Calif.) (21-12) and La Sierra (Calif.) (23-3) in Costa Mesa, Calif. Vanguard concluded the regular season in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Golden State Athletic Conference after dropping its last two matches of the season. La Sierra received an automatic bid into the Opening Round by way of a runner-up finish at the Association of Independent Institutions Tournament.

Robert Morris (Ill.) (18-15) makes a surprising appearance in the Opening Round after blazing to a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship as the league's No. 5 seed. The Eagles will travel to St. Louis, Mo., to take on American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament champion and 15th-ranked Missouri Baptist (35-4). AMC Newcomer of the Year Lauren Stuckel and the Spartans will look to continue their momentum after upsetting then-No. 3 Columbia (Mo.) in the league tournament final.

No. 16 Spring Hill (Ala.) (38-1), this season's NAIA win percentage leader (.974), will host Xavier (La.) (23-6) in a rematch of a Sept. 6 meeting between the two squads. Spring Hill defeated Xavier, 25-10, 25-10, 25-12, in Mobile, Ala., on that date. The Badgers will lean on one of the nation's top players in Yiting Cao, who leads the NAIA with 5.4 kills per set. Xavier comes off Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.

No. 17 Indiana Tech (33-5) draws Point Park (Pa.) (36-5) after winning the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament. The Warriors nearly swept the WHAC's postseason awards as outside hitter Ashley Hamilton took Player of the Year honors and coach Kirsta Solberg grabbed Coach of the Year honors. Point Park has won 21 of its last 22 matches, a streak that includes a tournament title in the American Mideast/California Pacific Unaffiliated Grouping.

In another matchup of California teams, No. 24 Cal State San Marcos (29-7) travels to No. 18 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) (18-8). The Sea Lions defeated Cal State San Marcos, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22, on Sept. 2.

No. 18 Taylor (Ind.) (29-7) will play host to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (31-2). Taylor lost to Indiana Wesleyan in the MCC Tournament title match, while Lindsey Wilson has won 24 of 25 after taking the Mid-South Conference Tournament crown.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion and No. 20 Oklahoma Baptist (30-10) will hit the road for a battle with Kansas Wesleyan (26-8), who nabbed the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title.

No. 21 Bellevue (Neb.) (29-6) gets a home date with MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (27-7). The Bruins finished second in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season but won the league tournament. MidAmerica Nazarene has won six in-a-row after taking the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament.

In Bourbannais, Ill., Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (28-12) draws No. 22 Grand View (Iowa.) (38-7). Olivet Nazarene garnered its bid by winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season crown, while Grand View triumphed at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament final.

Finally, No. 25 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (27-8), the TranSouth Athletic Conference Tournament champ, visits Indiana East (37-8), who reeled in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title.

Point Loma Nazarene will be playing in the Opening Round for the fourth-straight season, having won its previous three Opening Round matches. Nine of the 24 teams that will be in action on Saturday have appeared in the Opening Round at least once. Three squads, Bellevue, College of Idaho and Olivet Nazarene, are 2-0 in Opening Round play.

Final site pool assignments and schedule will be announced Nov. 21 by 5 p.m. CST.

The final 24 teams will be placed into six pools for three days of round-robin play. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the single-elimination bracket starting Dec. 2. The championship match will take place on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. CST.

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 complete coverage of the Opening Round, click here.