MADISON, SD (dsuathletics.com) – Dakota State (S.D.) extended their 2024 season Monday afternoon after finding out that they punched the ticket to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round for the third time in the past six seasons (2019, 2021, 2024).
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the qualifying teams and opening round matchups for the 2024 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championships by Marriott South Sioux City Riverfront and Explore Siouxland. The 48-team event will begin with 24 championship opening round matches at campus locations on Saturday (Nov. 23).
After opening rounds, the action at the final site will take place inside the Tyson Events Cetner in Sioux City, Iowa, and will start with three days of pool play from Dec. 4-6. At the conclusion of pool play, the top team in each three-team pool will advance to the elimination bracket, starting with the quarterfinals, on Saturday, Dec. 7. The semifinals will be played on Monday, Dc. 9, and the national champion will be crowned Tuesday, Dec. 10.
This year’s championship field includes 34 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, regular-season championship, or finished runner-up at the conference tournament as determined by each conference qualification plan. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Selection Committee. The selection committee consists of coaches and administrators from around the country.
All championship opening round matches will be video streamed by the host.
Dakota State (S.D.) (18-12 overall record, receiving votes in the final edition of the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll) will take on No. 20 ranked Midland (Neb.) (17-11 overall record) of the Great Plains Athletic Conference on Saturday. Time will be announced at a later time.
Both Dakota State and Midland received an at-large to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round. The Warriors will be making their 11th overall national tournament appearance in program history. The last time both teams met was on Oct. 19, 2012, in Fremont, Neb.
The Trojans defeated No. 3 ranked Jamestown (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association Women’s Volleyball Conference Tournament’s semifinals in five sets on Nov. 15. DSU feel short in the championship match against No. 5 ranked and host team Bellevue (Neb.) on Nov. 16. Midland also fell to No. 2 ranked Concordia (Neb.) in the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament’s semifinals.
The North Star Athletic Association will have three schools playing in the national tournament’s opening round on Saturday – William Carey (Miss.) at Jamestown and Texas Wesleyan at Bellevue.