CSM volleyball earns At-Large bid into national tournament
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The wait is over.
The College of Saint Mary volleyball team earned an At-Large selection into the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships. The Flames will host St. Ambrose University in the opening round Saturday at 3 p.m. at College of Saint Mary.
"I feel good about the match-up," CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. "We've played some common opponents and I know we'll be ready to go on Saturday."
The Flames will enter with a 22-8 record, while the Fighting Bees enter with a 19-14 mark after winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
On Monday afternoon, the NAIA announced the qualifying teams and NAIA Championship Opening Round matchups for the 2023 NAIA Women's Volleyball Championship – presented by Marriott South Sioux City Riverfront and Riverside Technologies Inc. The 48-team event will begin with 24 NAIA Championship Opening Round matches at campus locations on Saturday.
After NAIA Championship Opening Rounds, the action at the final site inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, starts with three days of pool play from Nov. 29 – Dec. 1. The top team of each pool will advance to the elimination bracket, starting with the quarterfinals, on Saturday, Dec. 2. The semifinals will be played on Monday, Dec. 4, and the national champion will be crowned Tuesday, Dec. 5, with the first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.
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 NAIA Championship Opening Round matches will be video streamed by the host.
The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches, excluding the semifinal and championship matches, live at the 2023 NAIA Volleyball Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto Sports, 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 (November 29 – December 1), and a championship package, which includes pool play and quarterfinal matches. The semifinals on December 4 and the championship on December 5 will be streamed on ESPN3. The links will be found on the schedule at a closer date.
The 24-team championship final site pool play matchups will be announced on Sunday, November 19, on NAIA.org by 5 p.m.
Qualifier Highlights
- This is the fourth consecutive year that all qualifying teams must participate in the opening round before advancing to the final site.
- Columbia (Mo.) entered the championship field with the highest number of appearances at 29 and was the first team to hit 100 tournament wins.
- Following Columbia (Mo.), 15 teams have recorded ten or more appearances in the championship field.
- The last seven of nine women's volleyball champions return to the championship field this year.
- Five teams in the championship field have won at least one title: Columbia (Mo.), Missouri Baptist, Park (Mo.), Jamestown (N.D.), and Marian (Ind.).
- Thirty-three of the 48 qualifying teams also qualified for the 2022 championship.
- Seven teams in the field are qualifying for the first time: Benedictine (Kan.), Judson (Ill.), Montana Western, Oklahoma Wesleyan, Saint Katherine (Calif.), Talladega (Ala.) and Valley City State (N.D.).
- Indiana Wesleyan is the only team in the field to boast an unblemished record at 32-0.
- Loyola (La.) returns to the championship field after a 21-year drought.
- The Great Plains Athletic Conference qualified the highest number of teams, with six teams making the field. The Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Crossroads League followed with four teams appearing in the field.
Opening Round Matchups
|
HOME |
|
VISITOR |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) |
vs. |
IU East (Ind.) |
|
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
vs. |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
|
CIU (S.C.) |
vs. |
Bethel (Ind.) |
|
College of Saint Mary (Neb.) |
vs. |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
|
Columbia (Mo.) |
vs. |
Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) |
|
Concordia (Neb.) |
vs. |
Judson (Ill.) |
|
Corban (Ore.) |
vs. |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
|
Eastern Oregon |
vs. |
Xavier (La.) |
|
Indiana Wesleyan |
vs. |
Talladega (Ala.) |
|
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
vs. |
Morningside (Iowa) |
|
Jamestown (N.D.) |
vs. |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
|
Midland (Neb.) |
vs. |
Kansas Wesleyan |
|
Missouri Baptist |
vs. |
Mobile (Ala.) |
|
Montana Tech |
vs. |
College of Idaho |
|
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
vs. |
Indiana Tech |
|
Northwestern (Iowa) |
vs. |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
|
Park (Mo.) |
vs. |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
|
SAGU (Texas) |
vs. |
Montana Western |
|
Southern Oregon |
vs. |
Loyola (La.) |
|
Saint Katherine (Calif.) |
vs. |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
|
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
vs. |
Marian (Ind.) |
|
Texas Wesleyan |
vs. |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
|
Vanguard (Calif.) |
vs. |
Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
|
Viterbo (Wis.) |
vs. |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
2023 Qualifiers
|
Institution |
Qualification Method |
Season Record |
Last Qualified |
Appearances |
Championship Record |
Titles |
|
Aquinas (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
31-8 |
2020 |
3 |
2-2 |
0 |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) |
At-Large |
24-9 |
2022 |
16 |
21-29 |
0 |
|
Benedictine (Kan.) |
At-Large |
21-8 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion |
29-3 |
2022 |
3 |
0-2 |
0 |
|
Bethel (Ind.) |
At-Large |
26-6 |
2022 |
5 |
5-6 |
0 |
|
Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
26-1 |
2022 |
3 |
0-2 |
0 |
|
Bryan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
22-10 |
2022 |
6 |
0-5 |
0 |
|
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
22-10 |
2022 |
6 |
10-6 |
0 |
|
CIU (S.C.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
31-1 |
2022 |
3 |
0-2 |
0 |
|
College of Idaho |
At-Large |
19-13 |
2018 |
14 |
29-26 |
0 |
|
College of Saint Mary (Neb.) |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2022 |
12 |
28-19 |
0 |
|
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
Continental Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
21-11 |
2017 |
6 |
2-8 |
0 |
|
Columbia (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion |
29-6 |
2022 |
29 |
100-42 |
4 (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015) |
|
Concordia (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
23-3 |
2022 |
6 |
10-5 |
0 |
|
Corban (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
26-6 |
2022 |
8 |
20-11 |
0 |
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
Mid-South Tournament Champions |
24-10 |
2022 |
2 |
0-1 |
0 |
|
Eastern Oregon |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
30-1 |
2022 |
10 |
23-15 |
0 |
|
Indiana Tech |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
31-4 |
2022 |
6 |
6-9 |
0 |
|
Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads League Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
32-0 |
2022 |
12 |
17-18 |
0 |
|
IU East (Ind.) |
River States Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
27-8 |
2020 |
8 |
1-9 |
0 |
|
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
River States Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
32-3 |
2022 |
10 |
4-11 |
0 |
|
Jamestown (N.D.) |
At-Large |
23-9 |
2022 |
11 |
25-14 |
1 (2022) |
|
Judson (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference No. 1 seed in Conference Tournament |
23-4 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Kansas Wesleyan |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
26-9 |
2022 |
4 |
1-5 |
0 |
|
Loyola (La.) |
At-Large |
26-6 |
2002 |
3 |
1-7 |
0 |
|
Marian (Ind.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2022 |
7 |
18-9 |
1 (2019) |
|
Midland (Neb.) |
At-Large |
15-11 |
2022 |
10 |
29-15 |
0 |
|
Missouri Baptist |
American Midwest Conference Regular Season Champion |
25-6 |
2022 |
15 |
44-26 |
2 (2020, 2021) |
|
Mobile (Ala.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
20-11 |
2022 |
9 |
6-13 |
0 |
|
Montana Tech |
At-Large |
22-5 |
2022 |
8 |
11-12 |
0 |
|
Montana Western |
Frontier Conference Tournament Champions |
21-6 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Morningside (Iowa) |
At-Large |
17-16 |
2019 |
9 |
8-17 |
0 |
|
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
Crossroads League Tournament Runner-Up |
30-7 |
2016 |
4 |
1-7 |
0 |
|
Northwestern (Iowa) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
26-2 |
2022 |
19 |
39-34 |
0 |
|
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion |
27-4 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Park (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
30-2 |
2022 |
11 |
37-12 |
2 (2014, 2018) |
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
At-Large |
21-12 |
2022 |
9 |
14-15 |
0 |
|
SAGU (Texas) |
Sooner Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion |
24-7 |
2022 |
3 |
1-3 |
0 |
|
Saint Katherine (Calif.) |
California Pacific Conference Regular Season Champion |
29-3 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Southern Oregon |
At-Large |
26-6 |
2022 |
13 |
21-24 |
0 |
|
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
19-14 |
2022 |
8 |
6-21 |
0 |
|
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
The Sun Conference Tournament Champion |
25-2 |
2022 |
6 |
2-15 |
0 |
|
Talladega (Ala.) |
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
31-8 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Texas Wesleyan |
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
26-5 |
2022 |
15 |
32-25 |
0 |
|
Valley City State (N.D.) |
At-Large |
22-9 |
0 |
1 |
0-0 |
0 |
|
Vanguard (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
26-1 |
2018 |
9 |
11-18 |
0 |
|
Viterbo (Wis.) |
North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion |
30-4 |
2022 |
11 |
34-14 |
0 |
|
Xavier (La.) |
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
19-7 |
2022 |
13 |
1-14 |
0 |