Westmont Volleyball (23-8) has received an at-large berth into the NAIA National Tournament. Because the Warriors moved up to number 11 in Sunday’s NAIA National Rankings, Westmont will receive an opening round bye and advance directly to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa for second round play.
“It was a big goal of ours to get to the national tournament,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “We would have been thrilled to play in the opening round, but now we get to skip that and are going to Sioux City for sure, which was our ultimate goal.”
Second round action begins on November 27 with pool play. The 24 teams which remain in the championship field for the second round will be divided into six pools of four teams each. Westmont will play each team in its pool over a three-day period. The top-two teams in each pool will advance to a twelve-team single-elimination bracket. The first round of the single-elimination bracket and the quarterfinals will be played on Friday, November 30 with the semi-finals and finals played on Saturday, December 1.
Five teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference earned a berth in the NAIA National Tournament with four receiving first round byes as a top-11 team. Top-ranked Concordia, #4 Biola and #6 The Master’s join Westmont in receiving first round byes. #22 Vanguard received the last at-large berth and will play in the opening round against an opponent to be named tomorrow. Half of the NAIA’s eight at-large berths went to Golden State Athletic Conference teams.
“The strength of the GSAC helps us be prepared for national tournament play,” said Cook. “We still have a lot of work to do. Half of the battle is just getting there. The level of play at the conference level will only help us at the national level.”
Of the Warriors eight losses on the season, seven came against conference teams, seven came against teams ranked in the top 10, and all eight came against ranked opponents.
“It makes me feel a little better about our win-loss record,” said Cook. “We started out really strong in the win category. When we entered into conference the real battle began. That is not the case for most (NAIA) teams. It is fun to have major battles take place in conference play. It is a fun conference to play in and it is a great thing for the GSAC to have so many teams in the top-11.”
The Warriors have made seven previous trips to the national tournament but none since 2002.
“This feels like a reward for all of the hard work we have put in this season,” said Cook. “I am excited for this opportunity for our team and our program.”
The NAIA will provide internet video broadcasts of the games that will be available on a pay-per-view basis. Fans can access the broadcasts HERE.
