PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Wichita State
20 will make its 11th NCAA Volleyball Tournament appearance this week, while UCF, SMU and Temple will be competing in the first National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) since 1995.
The Shockers (28-3, 20-0 American Athletic Conference) secured their first American Athletic Conference title and became the second team to go undefeated in league play. Wichita State earned the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host the First and Second Rounds from Dec. 1-2 for the first time in program history. The Shockers will face Big South champion Radford (25-4, 13-3 Big South) on Friday, Dec. 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The winner of the Wichita bracket will face the winner of the State College, Pa. bracket.
Wichita State’s 20-match winning streak is the longest in conference history, as the Shockers enter the tournament coming off nine straight sweeps—which are the most in American Athletic Conference history. The Shockers have won 27 consecutive sets, dropping just five in league play.
Wichita State is 7-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and 6-4 in the opening round. It will be the first meeting between the Shockers and Highlanders. The Shockers led the conference in hitting percentage (.338), assists per set (14.40), kills per set (15.29) and blocks per set (2.68), while holding their opponents to hitting a league-low .123.
Three American teams will also be partaking in postseason action with the rejuvenation of the NIVC, which will be played for the first time in 22 years. UCF (19-13, 12-5 American Athletic Conference) finished in the top-5 of The American after winning-out its final six regular season matches. The Knights accepted an at-large bid to the NIVC and will take on UNC Greensboro (19-11, 11-5 Southern Conference) on Tuesday, November 28 at 4 p.m. ET. in Athens, Ga. This marks the Knights' 13th appearance in the postseason and first since winning the conference title in 2014. UCF is 4-0 all-time against UNC Greensboro, as the other side of the bracket features Georgia and Alabama A&M.
SMU and Temple each posted 15-5 American records to split the second-place spot in this year’s standings. Temple (19-9, 15-5) enters the NIVC winning three in a row and will partake in postseason play for the first time in 15 years, earning an automatic qualifier. The Owls will head to West Virginia to play Campbell (20-11, 10-6 Big South) in the first round on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET. A win would advance Temple to the second round, playing the winner of West Virginia and Maryland Eastern Shore, on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET at West Virginia. Temple is second in the conference in hitting percentage, assists and kills per set. Temple’s last trip to the postseason, was in 2002, when the squad advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
SMU (21-10, 15-5) makes its third straight postseason appearance with the bid to the NIVC. The Mustangs will face Texas Tech (15-14, 4-12 Big 12) in the first round Thursday, November 30 in San Marcos, Texas, at 5 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to play the winner between Texas State and Rice on Friday. SMU held a strong defense this year, holding opponents to a .186 attack percentage. SMU leads the league with 17.97 digs per set, and ranks third with 2.35 blocks per set.
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, November 28
UCF vs. UNC Greensboro – 4 p.m. ET | NIVC
Temple vs. Campbell – 4:30 p.m. ET | NIVC
Thursday, November 30
SMU vs. Texas Tech – 5 p.m. ET | NIVC
Friday, December 1
Wichita State
20 vs. Radford – 9 p.m. ET | NCAA Tournament
All times are subject to change