2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Bracket (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS - The Sun Belt Conference will send a league-record four teams to the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament. Coastal Carolina earned the league’s automatic berth as James Madison, South Alabama and Texas State each earned at-large berths in Sunday’s Selection Show.
The Sun Belt finished with the most bids of any non-autonomy conference. The SEC led all conferences with eight selections as the Big 12 tallied seven. The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 each added five teams with the Sun Belt sending four teams to the tournament.
In 2007, the league sent three teams to the national tournament. This season, the Sun Belt had four teams ranked in the top 45 of the RPI, which was tied with the Big Ten for teams listed inside the top 45. All four teams mentioned for the league garnered bids for the tournament.
The Chanticleers (22-9) earned the league’s automatic bid to the tournament as they will make their eighth appearance overall and the first since 2017. The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions are led by Sun Belt Offensive Player and Player of the Year Jasmine Rivest. She is joined by Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Jalyn Stout, who know holds the NCAA Division I single-season record for triple-doubles with 14. Coastal Carolina has won eight of its last ten matches entering the tournament, as they will face No. 6 seeded Western Kentucky in Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, December 1 at 3:30 p.m. CT. The match will be steamed on ESPN+.
The Dukes (21-9) earned the No. 7 seed in the upper left quadrant of the bracket and will face Baylor in the first round of the tournament. The Dukes are ranked 22nd in the RPI. They defeated No. 22 Western Kentucky in the regular season, which marked the first win over a ranked opponent in program history. JMU is led by the First Team All-Sun Belt duo of Sophie Davis and Miëtte Veldman. Davis leads the Dukes in total blocks (138) and hitting percentage (.355), while Veldman leads JMU with 419 kills (3.68 per set) and is second on the team in digs (323). She has also picked up a team-leading 12 double-doubles in 2023. This will be the sixth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Dukes as they will face the Bears at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, November 30 in Lexington, Ky. The match will be steamed on ESPN+.
The Jaguars (22-8) earned an at-large bid to the tournament as they will make their second appearance. South Alabama is currently ranked 32nd in the RPI. Early in the year, the Jaguars defeated Stephen F. Austin and Clemson with narrow losses to Georgia Tech and Auburn to bolster the non-conference resume. The Jaguars are led by graduate outside hitter Hannah Maddux, who ranks 41st in kills per set (4.02) and 21st in points per set (4.88), and Sun Belt Setter of the Year Kailey Keeble, who ranks 15th nationally in assists per set (10.73). South Alabama will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face No. 5 seeded Georgia Tech Thursday, November 30 at 3:30 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN +.
The Bobcats (20-9) earned an at-large bid to the tournament and will make their 13th appearance in the postseason. Texas State used a rigorous non-conference schedule that featured matchups with 10 top-50 RPI programs. The Bobcats earned a win over No. 13 Houston as well as playing contested matchups with Tennessee and Kansas. They rank second in the nation in total blocks (312) and fifth in the nation in blocks per set (2.84). Texas State is led by Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Jade Defraeye, who ranks 45th nationally in total blocks (130) and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year KJ Johnson, who is a former two-time AVCA All-American. The Bobcats will travel to Austin, Texas to face No. 7 seeded SMU on Thursday, November 30 at 4 p.m. CT. The Match will be streamed on ESPN +.