KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the qualifying teams and opening round matchups for the 2024 NAIA Women's Volleyball Championship, presented by Marriott South Sioux City Riverfront and Explore Siouxland. The 48-team event will begin with 24 championship opening round matches at campus locations on Saturday, Nov. 23.
For the third consecutive season, the University of Mobile Volleyball program, led by 20th-year head coach Jon Campbell, was announced as one of the 48 competing teams in this year's tournament field. Mobile is scheduled to match up against No. 8 Corban University (Ore.) in the opening round, scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT on Nov. 23 in Salem, Ore. During the 2024 campaign, Mobile has put together a remarkable 31-4 overall record, claiming both the SSAC Volleyball Regular Season and Tournament Championships in the process. The conference tournament titles automatically qualified the Rams for a spot at nationals. Additionally, Mobile enters the national tournament riding a 14-match win streak, with the last loss on the season coming on Sept. 27. For Corban, the Warriors are 23-5 this season, losing to No. 7 Southern Oregon University in the semifinals of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament last time out.
The Rams average 13.69 kills per set in the 35 matches played, recording a team attack percentage of .229. On the defensive side, Mobile averages 17.20 digs per set and just under two blocks per set. Senior middle blocker Dazsha Dean Middleton was named this year's SSAC Volleyball Player of the Year, recording 268 kills and an attack percentage of .366 to lead the team. Teammates Jaci Drinnon and Tatum Beech were also featured with prestigious individual honors at the 2024 SSAC Volleyball Awards banquet as Drinnon earned the SSAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year, leading the entire SSAC with 640 total digs. For Beech, the senior setter claimed the SSAC Volleyball Co-Setter of the Year, leading Mobile with 704 assists and becoming the fifth member of University of Mobile Volleyball history to surpass 2,000 assists during her collegiate career. Finally, head and assistant coaches Jon Campbell and Amber Campbell were named 2024 SSAC Volleyball Head and Assistant Coaches of the Year.
More NAIA Tournament Info
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. The final site pools will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 24, and released by 1:00 p.m. CT by the NAIA. 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, Dec. 7. The semifinals will be played on Monday, Dec. 9 and the national champion will be crowned Tuesday, Dec. 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.
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.
Qualifier Highlights
- All qualifying teams will participate in the opening round before advancing to the final site.
- Columbia (Mo.) holds the all-time appearances record with 30 total appearances. The Cougars also have the most wins at the tournament with 103 wins. CC also boasts the highest number of titles in this year's tournament field, with four.
- Northwestern (Iowa) is the only team with 20 appearances.
- Fourteen teams have 10-19 appearances in the tournament: Bellevue (Neb.), Missouri Baptist, Texas Wesleyan, College of Idaho, Southern Oregon, Indiana Wesleyan, Jamestown (N.D.), Viterbo (Wis.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Eastern Oregon, IU Kokomo (Ind.), Midland (Neb.), Morningside (Iowa) and Mobile (Ala.).
- There are no first-year teams that qualified for the 2024 tournament field.
- There are five other teams that have won at least one title besides Columbia (Mo.): Missouri Baptist, Indiana Wesleyan, Jamestown (N.D.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Marian (Ind.).
- There are 33 teams that also qualified for the 2023 championship.
- There are two teams that remain undefeated in the tournament field: Northwestern (Iowa) and St. Thomas (Fla.).
- Grace (Ind.) closed a 23-year gap as they re-entered the tournament field for the first time since 2001.
- The Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference leads the way with six qualifiers from the conference.
Opening Round Matchups
*sort alphabetically by visitor
| VISITING |
|
HOME |
| Benedictine (Kan.) |
at |
The Master's (Calif.) |
| Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
at |
College of Idaho |
| Bushnell (Ore.) |
at |
Montana Tech |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
at |
Nelson (Texas) |
| CIU (S.C.) |
at |
Marian (Ind.) |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
at |
McPherson (Kan.) |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) |
at |
Providence (Mont.) |
| Dakota State (S.D.) |
at |
Midland (Neb.) |
| Dillard (La.) |
at |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
| Florida College |
at |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
| Indiana Tech |
at |
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
| IU East (Ind.) |
at |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
at |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
| Missouri Baptist |
at |
Grace (Ind.) |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
at |
Corban (Ore.) |
| Morningside (Iowa) |
at |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
| Oregon Tech |
at |
Montana Western |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
at |
Concordia (Neb.) |
| Reinhardt (Ga.) |
at |
Southern Oregon |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
at |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
| Talladega (Ala.) |
at |
Indiana Wesleyan |
| Texas Wesleyan |
at |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
| UC Merced (Calif.) |
at |
Eastern Oregon |
| William Carey (Miss.) |
at |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
QUALIFIERS LIST
| INSTITUTION |
QUALIFICATION |
SEASON RECORD |
LAST QUALIFIED |
APPEARANCES |
TITLES |
| Aquinas (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
39-1 |
2023 |
4 |
0 |
| Bellevue (Neb.) |
North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion |
28-3 |
2023 |
17 |
0 |
| Benedictine (Kan.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions |
25-7 |
2023 |
2 |
0 |
| Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
At-Large |
21-7 |
2023 |
4 |
0 |
| Bushnell (Ore.) |
At-Large |
19-12 |
2021 |
3 |
0 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion |
26-7 |
2023 |
7 |
0 |
| CIU (S.C.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
32-2 |
2023 |
4 |
0 |
| College of Idaho |
At-Large |
20-13 |
2023 |
15 |
0 |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
23-12 |
2023 |
30 |
4 |
| Concordia (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
24-3 |
2023 |
7 |
0 |
| Corban (Ore.) |
At-Large |
23-5 |
2023 |
9 |
0 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) |
At-Large |
32-5 |
2023 |
2 |
0 |
| Dakota State (S.D.) |
At-Large |
18-12 |
2021 |
3 |
0 |
| Dillard (La.) |
HBCU Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
20-8 |
2010 |
2 |
0 |
| Eastern Oregon |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular Season Champion |
28-4 |
2023 |
11 |
0 |
| Florida College |
Continental Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
21-8 |
2022 |
3 |
0 |
| Grace (Ind.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2001 |
2 |
0 |
| Indiana Tech |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
27-10 |
2023 |
7 |
0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
31-2 |
2023 |
13 |
1 |
| IU East (Ind.) |
River States Conference Tournament Champion |
27-9 |
2023 |
9 |
0 |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
River States Conference Regular Season Champion |
31-5 |
2023 |
11 |
0 |
| Jamestown (N.D.) |
At-Large |
22-2 |
2023 |
12 |
1 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion |
27-8 |
2021 |
12 |
1 |
| Marian (Ind.) |
Crossroads League Tournament Runner-Up |
23-8 |
2023 |
8 |
1 |
| McPherson (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
28-6 |
2021 |
4 |
0 |
| Midland (Neb.) |
At-Large |
17-11 |
2023 |
11 |
0 |
| Missouri Baptist |
American Midwest Conference Regular Season and Tournamnet Champion |
25-11 |
2023 |
16 |
2 |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
31-4 |
2023 |
10 |
0 |
| Montana Tech |
At-Large |
19-10 |
2023 |
9 |
0 |
| Montana Western |
At-Large |
22-9 |
2023 |
2 |
0 |
| Morningside (Iowa) |
At-Large |
22-10 |
2023 |
10 |
0 |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
At-Large |
29-4 |
2023 |
5 |
0 |
| Nelson (Texas) |
Sooner Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion |
29-5 |
2023 |
4 |
0 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
30-0 |
2023 |
20 |
0 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champion |
30-2 |
2023 |
2 |
0 |
| Oregon Tech |
At-Large |
19-13 |
2021 |
2 |
0 |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
23-8 |
2020 |
5 |
0 |
| Providence (Mont.) |
Frontier Conference Tournament Champion |
25-6 |
2021 |
5 |
0 |
| Reinhardt (Ga.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
25-7 |
2020 |
5 |
0 |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
19-11 |
2022 |
8 |
0 |
| Southern Oregon |
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion |
28-3 |
2023 |
14 |
0 |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) |
The Sun Conference Tournament Champions |
30-0 |
2023 |
7 |
0 |
| Talladega (Ala.) |
HBCU Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion |
25-9 |
2023 |
2 |
0 |
| Texas Wesleyan |
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champion |
25-8 |
2023 |
16 |
0 |
| The Master's (Calif.) |
Great Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Champions |
20-6 |
2020 |
5 |
0 |
| UC Merced (Calif.) |
California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion |
20-7 |
2020 |
2 |
0 |
| Viterbo (Wis.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion |
25-9 |
2023 |
12 |
0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
28-9 |
2019 |
2 |
0 |
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About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted, and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
