BU to host Texas Wesleyan in NAIA Opening Round

NAIA Release
NAIA Opening Round Schedule/Results

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2024 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The 48-team event will get underway with 24 National Championship Opening Round matches at campus locations on Nov. 23.

The Bruins return to the National Tournament for the ninth straight season and the 16th time in the last 18 years. Bellevue (28-3), ranked No. 5 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, earned an automatic bid after capturing last week's North Star Athletic Association Tournament and will host Texas Wesleyan University (25-8) on Saturday, Nov. 23, for an opening-round matchup at 6:00 p.m. The match will be played at Bellevue West High School. Ticket prices will be $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Bellevue finished as the North Star Athletic Association Tournament champions and the NSAA regular season co-champions with the third-ranked University of Jamestown. Jamestown and Dakota State University both received at-large bids to the NAIA National Tournament.  

After capturing the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title last Saturday with a sweep over Nelson University, Texas Wesleyan earned an automatic bid. The Rams have an overall record of 25-8 while finishing 18-4 in league play. 

Bellevue and Texas Wesleyan also faced off in the 2020-21 NAIA Opening Round, with BU hosting at Bellevue West. The Bruins overcame a 2-1 deficit and survived two match points en route to a dramatic 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 18-16) victory over the Rams.    

The Bruins are making their 17th appearance (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) in the National Tournament, and this will be the 14th time that BU has played an Opening Round match. In its previous 13 Opening Round matches, BU has posted a record of 10-3, advancing to Sioux City on 10 occasions. 

Texas Wesleyan is making its 16th appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. The Rams finished second in the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season, losing twice to Nelson before avenging those losses in the SAC Tournament title match.  

After opening rounds, the action at the final site will take place inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and will start with three days of pool play from December 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, December 7. The semifinals will be played on Monday, December 9, and the national champion will be crowned on Tuesday, December 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.

The 2024 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa, will be broadcast FREE on the NAIA Channel of the Urban Edge Network and the newly redesigned NAIA Network. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.

The final site pools will be determined on Sunday, November 24, and released by 1 p.m. CST.

Opening Round Schedule

Saturday, Nov. 23 | Campus Sites