Tournament officials announce 32-team NIVC field

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Proving yet again that the depth and talent base in Division-I women’s volleyball is enough to merit a deeper postseason footprint, tournament officials have secured a standout lineup of 32 teams to compete in the 2019 National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

Powered by Triple Crown Sports, this is the third year of the reborn NIVC event, which originally ran from 1989-1995. Previous champions of the new incarnation of the NIVC are Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).

All matches in the NIVC are hosted by participating schools. Rounds 1 and 2 will be held Dec. 5-7; Round 3 will take place Dec. 9-12, and the semifinals will be held between Dec. 13-15. The NIVC championship game will be held either Dec. 16, 17 or 18.

In bracket order, here’s the schedule for the first two rounds of the 2019 NIVC:

(home team listed first, all times Eastern)

Dec. 5 at South Dakota
UNLV (19-10) vs. Kansas City (17-11), 5:30 p.m.
South Dakota (27-2) vs. Central Michigan (21-8), 8 p.m.
Dec. 6 at South Dakota
Winners, 3 p.m.
 
Dec. 5 at UT Arlington
Houston (16-16) vs. Sam Houston State (18-13), 6 p.m.
UT Arlington (18-13) vs. UT San Antonio (16-13), 8 p.m.
Dec. 6 at UT Arlington
Winners, 7:30 p.m.
 
Dec. 4 at Long Beach State
UC Davis (17-12) vs. Tulsa (15-15), 8 p.m.
Long Beach State (12-16) vs. Santa Clara (20-11), 10 p.m.
Dec. 5 at Long Beach State
Winners, 10 p.m.
 
Dec. 5 at Wyoming
Weber State (24-8) vs. Boise State (18-11), 6 p.m.
Wyoming (21-8) vs. Northwestern State (20-12), 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Wyoming
Winners, 8:30 p.m.
 
Dec. 6 at Georgia Tech
Troy (22-9) vs. North Carolina A&T (16-14), 4 p.m.
Georgia Tech (21-8) vs. Alabama A&M (20-14), 7 p.m.
Dec. 7 at Georgia Tech
Winners, 7 p.m.

Dec. 7 at Liberty
High Point (20-12) vs. Morehead State (23-9), 4:30 p.m.
Liberty (19-11) vs. La Salle (15-13), 7 p.m.
Dec. 8 at Liberty
Winners, 3 p.m.

Dec. 5 at Bowling Green
Miami (OH) (17-11) vs. TCU (9-17), 4:30 p.m.
Bowling Green (19-12) vs. Purdue-Fort Wayne (18-14), 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Bowling Green
Winners, 7 p.m.

Dec. 6 at Colgate
Tulane (21-10) vs. New Hampshire (17-9), 4 p.m.
Colgate (22-7) vs. Boston College (20-11), 7 p.m.
Dec. 7 at Colgate
Winners, 7 p.m.

Much like the WNIT and NIT events in college basketball, the NIVC taps into the impressive depth of D-I volleyball and is designed to give more high-performing, highly skilled programs a chance to play for a postseason title. Teams with young rosters get to train and compete with an eye to the future; established rosters get one more chance to play together and memorably cap off their student-athlete experience.

About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing college and youth events for more than 35 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. TCS youth fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Colorado 4th of July event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes