Volleyball Receives Historic Bid to NIVC
12/2/2019 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Roos to Play Beyond Conference Tournament for the First Time in Program History
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - For the first time in program history the Kansas City volleyball team will continue its postseason beyond conference tournament play, the National Invitational Volleyball Championship announced on Sunday. The Roos are the only team in the 32-school tournament that will be representing the Western Athletic Conference, where they finished third in regular season play and qualified for the tournament semifinals. The NIVC selects many of the nation's top teams that were not invited to participate in the NCAA Tournament, and originally ran from 1989-95.
"We're grateful and excited that the NIVC committee selected our team for this year's tournament," Head Coach Christi Posey said. "We feel that this team is deserving to continue post season play due to the talent and grit they displayed throughout the season."
Kansas City is one of 20 schools in Division I to receive an at-large bid in the tournament, which is in its third year of play after taking a 20-year hiatus from 1996-2016. Ole Miss won the reboot's inaugural championship in 2017, followed by an Iowa State championship last season.
The Roos will travel to South Dakota for the first two rounds of tournament play, beginning this Thursday. Kansas City will be paired with UNLV, who finished third in the Mountain West this season, in the first round. A win would give the Roos a date with the winner between South Dakota and Central Michigan on Friday.
"This is another step for our program and all who worked to make this possible," Posey said.