KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the qualifying teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship. The 48-team event will get underway with 24 National Championship Opening Round matches at campus locations on November 20. Texas Wesleyan (24-6), making its fifth consecutive appearance, will play Columbia College (Mo.) (30-8) on Saturday.
Texas Wesleyan volleyball, the 2021 SAC regular season champion, will make its 14th all-time appearance at the national championship, and only six teams in the 2021 field have made more tournaments. The opponent, Columbia leads the field with 27 appearances all-time. The Cougars have won four titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015).
Heading into Saturday's match, TXWES is hitting .277 heading into the match, averaging 13.84 kills. 13.16 assists, 1.81 blocks, 1.50 aces, and 16.73 digs per set. 2021 SAC MVP
Bailey Foy leads the team with 4.1 points per set.
The Cougars, playing in the American Midwest Conference, are 15-0 at home taking second in the conference standings to Missouri Baptist. Columbia heads into Saturday hitting .236, averaging 12.86 kills, 11.98 assists, 1.62 blocks, 1.97 aces, and 16.17 digs per set. Sidney Branson leads the team with 3.3 points per set.
The Lady Rams won 15 consecutive matches heading into the SAC tournament semifinal, dropping a five-set thriller to Wayland Baptist. The Pioneers were upended in the final by SAGU. The Lions, the other SAC representative at the national championship, will play at Central Methodist (Mo.) in their opening round match.
After opening rounds, the action inside the Tyson Events Center starts with two days of pool play from November 30 – December 1. The top team in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on December 2, the semifinals will be played on December 3 and the national champion will be crowned December 4 with the first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.
This year's field includes 36 automatic qualifiers and 12 at-large selections. The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions or runner-ups, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups, or by conference selection. The remaining at-large bids were determined by the selection committee. Final site pools will be determined on Sunday, November 21, and released by 5 p.m. CST
The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches excluding the semifinals and championship matches live at the 2021 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto 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 30 – December 1) and a championship package is available at $39.95.
The semifinal and championship matches will be streamed via ESPN3.
Qualifier Highlights
- The Great Plains Athletic Conference brings in the highest number of qualifiers to the field with seven qualifying teams: College of Saint Mary (Neb.), Concordia (Neb.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Dordt (Iowa), Jamestown (N.D.), Midland (Neb.) and Northwestern (Iowa).
- There are 10 teams in the 2021 championship field that are qualifying for the first time: Ottawa (Ariz.), Blue Mountain (Miss.), Columbia International (S.C.), Edward Waters (Fla.), Florida College, Florida National, Life (Ga.), Midway (Ky.), Oregon Tech and Park Gilbert (Ariz.).
- There are 13 teams in the 2021 field that are making their 10 or more appearance at the national championship: Bellevue (Neb.), College of Saint Mary (Neb.), Columbia (Mo.), Dordt (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), Indiana Wesleyan, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Madonna (Mich.), Missouri Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Texas Wesleyan, Westmont (Calif.) and Xavier (La.).
- Columbia (Mo.) and Madonna (Mich.) are the only teams with 20 or more appearances in the 2021 championship field.
- Columbia (Mo.) holds the highest number of appearances in the tournament field and all schools in tournament history with 27.
- The 2020 national champion Missouri Baptist returns to the championship field as the American Midwest Conference regular-season and tournament champion.
- There are five teams in the 2021 field that have previously won a title: Columbia (Mo.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Marian (Ind.), Missouri Baptist and Park (Mo.)
- Columbia (Mo.) and Park (Mo.) are the only team in the tournament field to have won more than one title. Columbia (Mo.) had four titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015) and Park (Mo.) has two titles (2014-2018).
- Indiana yields the highest number of championship qualifiers with five teams. Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and Oregon follow with four qualifiers each.
- Twenty-eight teams qualified for the 2021 national championship after competing in the 2020 championship.
- Jamestown (N.D.) enters the 2021 championship field as the only team with an undefeated, 31-0, record.
- Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) returns to the championship field after a 31-year drought. The Tigers return to the national championship for the first time since 1990.
| Team |
Qualification |
Appearances |
Last Qualified |
| Ave Maria (Fla.) |
The Sun Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Bellevue (Neb.) |
At-Large |
14 |
2020 |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
At-Large |
3 |
2020 |
| Blue Mountain (Miss.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Bryan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
4 |
2020 |
| Bushnell (Ore.) |
At-Large |
2 |
2020 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
4 |
2020 |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
27 |
2019 |
| Columbia International (S.C.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
1 |
NA |
| Concordia (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
4 |
2020 |
| Corban (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
6 |
2020 |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
6 |
2020 |
| Dakota State (S.D.) |
At-Large |
2 |
2019 |
| Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
At-Large |
2 |
1990 |
| Dordt (Iowa) |
At-Large |
16 |
2020 |
| Eastern Oregon |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
8 |
2020 |
| Edward Waters (Fla.) |
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion |
4 |
2019 |
| Florida College |
Continental Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
1 |
NA |
| Florida National |
Continental Atheltic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Grand View (Iowa) |
At-Large |
11 |
2020 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads League Tournament Runner-Up |
10 |
2020 |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
River States Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
8 |
2020 |
| IU South Bend (Ind.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
2 |
2016 |
| Jamestown (N.D.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
9 |
2020 |
| Life (Ga.) |
Mid-South Conference Regular-Season Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion |
11 |
2020 |
| Madonna (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
20 |
2020 |
| Marian (Ind.) |
Crossroads League Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
5 |
2020 |
| McPherson (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
3 |
2020 |
| Midland (Neb.) |
At-Large |
8 |
2020 |
| Midway (Ky.) |
River States Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
1 |
NA |
| Missouri Baptist |
American Midwest Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
13 |
2020 |
| Montana Tech |
At-Large |
6 |
2019 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) |
At-Large |
17 |
2020 |
| Oregon Tech |
At-Large |
1 |
NA |
| Ottawa (Ariz.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Ottawa (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
9 |
2020 |
| Park (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
9 |
2020 |
| Park Gilbert (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference Regular-Season Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Providence (Mont.) |
Frontier Conference Tournament Champion |
4 |
2020 |
| SAGU (Texas) |
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
1 |
NA |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season/Tournament Champion |
6 |
2018 |
| St. Mary (Neb.) |
At-Large |
10 |
2019 |
| Texas Wesleyan |
Sooner Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion |
13 |
2020 |
| Viterbo (Wis.) |
North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion |
9 |
2020 |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference Regular-Season Runer-Up |
15 |
2020 |
| Xavier (La.) |
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
11 |
2020 |
Opening Round Match-Ups
| Away Team |
|
Home Team |
| McPherson (Kan.) |
at |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
| IU South Bend (Ind.) |
at |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
| Blue Mountain (Miss.) |
at |
Missouri Baptist |
| Midway (Ky.) |
at |
Park (Mo.) |
| Florida College |
at |
Providence (Mont.) |
| Florida National |
at |
College of St. Mary (Neb.) |
| Bryan (Tenn.) |
at |
Marian (Ind.) |
| Park Gilbert (Ariz.) |
at |
Corban (Ore.) |
| Edward Waters (Fla.) |
at |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) |
at |
Midland (Neb.) |
| Columbia International (S.C.) |
at |
Eastern Oregon |
| Life (Ga.) |
at |
Xavier (La.) |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
at |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
| SAGU (Texas) |
at |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
| Texas Wesleyan |
at |
Columbia (Mo.) |
| Ave Maria (Fla.) |
at |
Concordia (Neb.) |
| Madonna (Mich.) |
at |
Indiana Wesleyan |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
at |
Ottawa (Ariz.) |
| Bushnell (Ore.) |
at |
Montana Tech |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
at |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
at |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
| Dakota State (S.D.) |
at |
Grand View (Iowa) |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
at |
Dordt (Iowa) |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
at |
Oregon Tech |
