NIVC Bracket
NEW ORLEANS – Arkansas State won a pair of matches to advance to the Great 8 in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) to pace Sun Belt Conference volleyball programs in postseason action. It marks the second consecutive year the league has a team in the Great 8 of the tournament.
Arkansas State (28-5) defeated UTRGV in the first round 3-1 to advance to the Super 16 of the NIVC. The Red Wolves used 13 blocks and limited their opponent to a .175 hitting percentage. The next matchup put Arkansas State against the host SFA for a spot in the Great 8. The Red Wolves improved to 7-1 in five set matches to give the Ladyjacks their second loss at home this season.
The pair of wins marked the first multi-win postseason for Arkansas State since a 2-2 run in the 1993 NIVC. In the win over SFA, the Red Wolves added 12 blocks with seven from Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year Daedrianna Cail. Arkansas State will face Northern Colorado in Tucson, Ariz. Inside the McKale Center on the campus of Arizona. The match is scheduled for December 11 at 4 p.m. CT.
Georgia Southern also advanced to the Super 16 with a 3-0 win over SEMO in the first round (28-26, 25-13, 25-13). Reagan Barth finished with 13 kills as Jillian Gray added 11. Kirsten Barrett totaled five service aces with 36 assists in the win. The Eagles finished the season 22-7 after a 3-2 loss to Northern Colorado on Saturday night (18-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14, 10-15). Barrett tallied 44 assists in the five-set loss and became the first Eagle with over 1,000 assists in a season since 2014. Gray added 15 more kills as Paige Powers finished with 17. It also marked the first loss for the Eagles within Hanner Fieldhouse this year.
App State (18-10) faced Northern Colorado in the First Round, as the Mountaineers fell 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 12-25, 22-25). Maya Winterhoff, Lulu Ambrose and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Elise Marchal finished in double figures with kills. Addison Heidemann tallied 39 assists and ten digs for her 11th double-double of the season as Kenady Roper tallied a team-high 17 digs.
At the NCAA Tournament, Texas State earned the league’s automatic bid and faced Missouri on the road at SMU. Despite close sets, the Bobcats finish the season 22-9 after a 3-0 loss (16-25, 22-25, 22-25). Sun Belt Setter of the Year Ryann Torres tallied 24 assists as both Jade Defraeye and Bailey Hanner tallied three blocks. Samantha Wunsch led the team with nine kills as Alyssa Ortega totaled 13 digs.