Bracket
 
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – UTA and Troy are among the 32 teams selected to participate in the 2019 National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
 
The two Sun Belt Conference squads get underway in postseason play this week with UTA hosting the first two rounds at the College Park Center and Troy hitting the road to play in Atlanta at Georgia Tech.
 
UTA (18-13, 8-8 Sun Belt) opens against UTSA (16-13, 8-6 Conference USA) on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT. The winner of this match faces the winner of Sam Houston State (18-13, 12-4 Southland) and Houston (16-16, 10-6 American) in the second round on Friday, Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Troy (22-9, 10-6) opens against North Carolina A&T (16-14, 13-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic) on Friday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. CT. The winner of this match faces the winner of host Georgia Tech (21-8, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) and Alabama A&M (20-14, 15-4 Southwestern Athletic) in the second round on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. CT.
 
The Mavericks are back in the postseason for the first time since making back-to-back NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship appearances in 2001 and 2002, while the Trojans are making their first-ever postseason appearance since the program started in 1993.
 
Joining Texas State in the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Belt boasts three teams in postseason play. The conference has multiple teams in the postseason for the third-straight year following three (Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Tournament and Arkansas State and Texas State in the NIVC) in 2017 and a conference-record four (Texas State in the NCAA Tournament and Appalachian State, Little Rock and Arkansas State in the NIVC) in 2018.
 
Sun Belt teams have combined for nine NIVC appearances – Appalachian State (2018), Little Rock (2018), Arkansas State (1991, 1993, 2017, 2018), UTA (2019), Texas State (2017) and Troy (2019). The NIVC was originally played from 1989-95 and reestablished in 2017.