KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [OPENING ROUND RESULTS | POOL PLAY SCHEDULE | BRACKET] The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship presented by Marriot South Sioux City Riverfront and Riverside Technologies Inc. will continue at the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, with pool play matches on Wednesday, November 29 culminating to the championship on December 5 in the Tyson Events Center.

The tournament's first three days (November 29 – December 1) will consist of pool play matches. Each pool is made up of three teams. The team with the best record in each pool or wins on a tie-break scenario advances to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals begin single-elimination bracket play, where the winners will advance to the semifinals and then the championship rounds.

The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches, excluding the semifinal and championship matches, live at the 2023 NAIA Volleyball Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto Sports, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while a pool play pass is $24.95 (November 29 – December 1) and a championship package is available at $39.95. The championship package includes all pool play and quarterfinal matches.

The semifinal and championship matches on December 4^th and 5^th will be streamed on ESPN3. The link can be found on the schedule at a closer date.

Quick Facts

• This is the 16th year the championship has been hosted in Sioux City, Iowa.
• Twenty-four teams advanced to the final site. All qualifying teams had to advance to the final site by winning their respective championship opening round.
• A total of 48 teams qualified for the championship tournament.
• Six of the 14 at-large bids remain in the championship field.
• Six of the 24 teams that advanced to the final site originally qualified with an at-large bid.
• Montana Western, Oklahoma Wesleyan, Saint Katherine (Calif.) and Valley City State (N.D.) are the only teams that qualified for the first time and advanced to the final site after winning their opening round.
• St. Ambrose (Iowa), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Valley City State (N.D.) and Montana Western upset the higher seed in their respective opening round matches.
• The four title winners that qualified for the championship (Columbia (Mo.), Missouri Baptist, Park (Mo.) and Jamestown (N.D.)) remain in the field and will have a shot at another title.
• The Great Plains Athletic Conference has advanced the highest number of teams to the final site with four. The Cascade Collegiate Conference and North Star Athletic Association advanced three teams apiece. 
• Eighteen of the 24 teams that advanced to the final site also competed in the 2022 championship.
• Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) has not qualified for the most extended length of time since they last qualified in 2016.
• Six teams enter play at the final site with a 20+ match win streak: Indiana Wesleyan (33), IU Kokomo (Ind.) (28), Park (Mo.) (27), Vanguard (Calif.) (25), St. Thomas (Fla.) (21) and Eastern Oregon (20).
• Columbia (Mo.) is the championship wins leader with 100 total match wins in the team's 29 total appearances.
• There are four 2022 NAIA First Team All-Americans that will be competing at the final site: Kira Rymer Attaway of CIU (S.C.), Malaina Hensley of Park (Mo.), Rylee Troutman of Corban (Ore.) and Sara Klunder of Missouri Baptist.
• Six 2022 NAIA All-Tournament team members will be competing at the final site: Kara Clayton of Eastern Oregon, Luisa Ferreira of Columbia (Mo.), Malaina Hensley of Park (Mo.), Makayla Roginski and Rylee Troutman of Corban (Ore.) and Ellie Holen of Jamestown (N.D.).

So we meet again (pool play matches that have happened before)

• Pool A
  • Northwestern (Iowa) has previously played both Bellevue (Neb.) and St. Ambrose (Iowa) in pool play. Bellevue in 2017 and St. Ambrose in 1995, both matches resulted in a win for NWC.
  • Bellevue also faced Northwestern in the first round of bracket play in 2008, which resulted in a win for NWC.
• Pool B
  • Indiana Wesleyan previously defeated IU Kokomo (Ind.) when they faced each other in pool play in 2016.
  • IWU and IU Kokomo have also played each other in the opening round in 2017.
• Pool C
  • Eastern Oregon and Montana Tech faced each other in pool play during the 2016 championship. EOU was the victor in that match.
• Pool D
  • Concordia (Neb.), Midland (Neb.) and Montana Western have never played each other during a championship before.
• Pool E
  • In 2018, Viterbo (Wis.) and Southern Oregon faced off in pool play as the V-Hawks overcame SOU in five sets.
  • CIU (S.C.) has played neither Viterbo nor Southern Oregon during championship play.
• Pool F
  • Park (Mo.) has never played Columbia (Mo.) in pool play but the two faced each other in the championship match in 2018, where the Pirates captured their second crown in five sets.
  • Columbia & Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) faced each other in pool play in 2015. CC won that match in three sets.
• Pool G
  • Corban (Ore.), Jamestown (N.D.) and St. Thomas (Fla.) have not faced each other in pool play during a championship.
  • Jamestown and Corban faced each other in championship play in the 2022 title match, where UJ captured its first title.
• Pool H
  • Missouri Baptist, Vanguard (Calif.) and Saint Katherine (Calif.) have never played each other in the pool play round of a championship.
  • However, MBU and Vanguard faced each other in the first round of bracket play in 2014, where Missouri Baptist captured the five set win.

Teams to watch

• The defending NAIA National Champion, Jamestown (N.D.), returned to the championship field. The Jimmies opened the season at number one. However, with the loss of three key players from the title team, the team dropped in subsequent Coaches’ Top 25 Ratings until the team found their footing and moved back inside the Top 10 by the end of the season. Ellie Holen is a player to watch as an NAIA All-Tournament team member, NAIA Tournament Defender of the Year, NAIA Defender of the Year and NAIA Second Team All-American all in just the 2022 season.
• Corban (Ore.) was the runner-up in 2022 and lost three key players but returned 2022 All-Tournament team members Makayla Roginski and Rylee Troutman. Troutman was also named NAIA Tournament Attacker of the Year, NAIA Attacker of the Year and NAIA First Team All-American in 2022. The Warriors stayed inside the Top 10 of the Coaches’ Top 25 Rating.
• Concordia (Neb.), Eastern Oregon and Northwestern (Iowa) stayed inside the Top 5 of the Coaches’ Top 25 Rating all season long. CUNE earned its first No. 1 ranking this year. The three teams shared the No. 1 spot for six out of the Top 25 Ratings. Jamestown and Indiana Wesleyan were also ranked No. 1 this season.
• Indiana Wesleyan is the only team in the field that remains undefeated with a 33-0 record. IWU has lost only seven total sets and has yet to play a five-set match this season. The team opened the season at No. 16 in the Top 25 Rating but worked their way up to the team's first No. 1 ranking. Sophomore Abbigail Porter is a player to watch for the Wildcats as a two-time NAIA Setter of the Week this season.
• Missouri Baptist, Park (Mo.) and Viterbo (Wis.) all remained within the Top 10 of the Coaches’ Top 25 Rating for the whole season.