Nov. 20, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2008 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Volleyball National Championship Opening Round matches will be held at on-campus sites on Saturday, November 22, 2008.

The top-12 teams in the championship field received a bye while the next 24 teams will play in the opening round.  Winner of each opening round match will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa.  The tournament will be held at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena from Dec. 2-6, 2008 in Sioux City.

The final 24 teams are placed into six pools and will play a round robin pool play Dec. 2-4.  The top two teams from each pool will advance to the single elimination bracket, which begins Friday, Dec. 5 and will end with the championship match on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. (CST).

Final site pool assignments and schedule will be announced on Sunday, November 23 by 1 p.m. (CST).

The following teams received an opening round bye and will advance to the final site: Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Bellevue (Neb.), Biola (Calif.), California Baptist (Calif.), Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Georgetown (Ky.), Lindenwood (Mo.), Madonna (Mich.), Morningside (Iowa) and Northwestern (Iowa).

Fresno Pacific (Calif.) captured its third national title last season and is once again the favorite this season.  The Sunbirds are perfect on the season with 30-0 record and were ranked No. 1 in every Coaches’ Top 25 Poll this season.

For more information on Opening Round, click here.

For more information on National Championship, click here.