No.8 Northwestern begins play at the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship this week at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The top seed in pool H, Northwestern opens pool play against 25th-ranked Marian (Ind.) on Tuesday night at 8 pm. They will then match-up against #23 McPherson (Kan.) on Wednesday night (8 pm) followed by the final match in pool play against ninth-ranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at 8 pm on Thursday night.
The Marion University Knights qualified for their second straight and second overall NAIA Championship by winning both the Crossroads regular and postseason titles. They are one of two teams from their conference, along with the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), to earn a spot in the championship (USF lost in the opening round and is not part of the final 32-team field). Marian went 15-3 in league play, swept Faulkner (Ala.) in the opening round and has won five straight matches. They are 0-1 against the 32-team field (lost to St. Xavier) and have won five straight heading into Tuesday night.
The McPherson Bulldogs are playing in their first NAIA National Championship, earning a spot at the final site after a five-set win over Texas Wesleyan in the opening round. McPherson qualified by way of winning the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title with a perfect 12-0 record. They are one of two KCAC teams at the final site (along with Ottawa) and begin play with a 33-2 overall record. The Bulldogs are 3-1 against teams at the final site, going 2-1 against Ottawa and defeating Hastings (Neb.).
Ranked ninth in the final coaches’ poll, Rocky Mountain brings an impressive 28-4 overall record into pool play matches. They earned the second at-large bid into the championship field and received a first round bye to the final site. They won the Frontier Athletic Conference regular season title, going a perfect 12-0 in league play, but lost the conference tournament championship to Providence (Mont.). Rocky Mountain is one of two teams, along with Providence, in the field. The Bears are 7-4 against the field.
The top seed in pool H, Northwestern is one of six teams from the GPAC at the 32-team final site, joining Dordt, Hastings, Midland, Jamestown and Morningside. The Red Raiders finished tied with Hastings for second in the GPAC with a 13-3 record, 24-7 overall. They qualified for the championship as the GPAC runner-up and are 6-7 against the 32-team field.
The Red Raiders are playing in their second straight and 14th overall national championship, ninth under the direction of coach Van Den Bosch. They are 25-28 all-time at the championship, reaching the quarterfinals three straight years (2007-09) and in 1992.
