SAN ANTONIO – The 2019 UTSA volleyball season continues with an at-large berth in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, announced by the selection committee Sunday.
UTSA (16-13) will face UT Arlington (18-13) of the Sun Belt Conference Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round. Houston (16-16) of the American Athletic Conference and Southland's Sam Houston State open the action at 5 p.m. at College Park Center.
UTSA and UT Arlington have met 34 times, with the Mavericks holding a 27-17 advantage. The Roadrunners registered a 3-1 triumph Sept. 13, 2013, the last time the two sides met. They own a five-match winning streak, including sweeps each of the last two times the teams battled in Arlington.
This is the first postseason appearance for the Roadrunners since 2013 when they met Texas A&M in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
About the Postseason NIVC
The National Invitational Volleyball Championship is an annual tournament involving 32 to 40 of the nation's top women's Division I Volleyball teams. All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools and each round is single elimination.
Format
Eight teams host Rounds 1 and 2 in 4 to 5 team pods; single matches in Rounds 33 through 5. The championship game will be webcast. The event offers 32 automatic berths, one to each established conference. The NIVC field and bracket is announced late on the evening of the NCAA Tournament selections.
2019 Dates
The field is announced Dec. 1, 2019 and . The first round begins Thursday, Dec. 5, with the event culminating Tuesday, Dec. 17 with the championship.
Selection – Dec. 1
Round 1 and 2 – Dec. 5-7
Round 3 – Dec. 9-12
Semifinals – Dec. 13-15
Championship – Dec. 17
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Triple Crown Sports has been producing events in youth athletics and the college ranks for more than 35 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason NCAA DI Women's National Invitational Tournament basketball events and produces the men's and women's Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. In addition, TCS runs the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the only NCAA DI softball event played outside of the United States and the NISC, a "WNIT" model for DI softball. Triple Crown also operates one of the top club volleyball events in the country, the TC Volleyball NIT, which hosts 600 of the top clubs in the country and is played at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
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