No. 24 Bethel Women’s Volleyball earned an At-Large spot in the upcoming 2021 NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship Opening Round on Saturday, November 20, one of 48 teams that will begin at 24 National Championship Opening Round sites this weekend and finish at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa from November 30 – December 4 for the final 24 teams remaining.
The Pilots’ Opening Round opponent will be No. 22 Dordt (Iowa). They will play on Saturday in Sioux Center Iowa at Dordt’s De Witt Gymnasium. The Pilots and Defenders have never faced each other in program history.
TOURNAMENT VITALS
• NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship Opening Round Site: Sioux Center, Iowa
• NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship Final Site: Sioux City, Iowa
• Opening Round Schedule: Schedule
• Live Results: Stats | Video
A LOOK AT DORDT
• The Defenders are located in Sioux Center, Iowa and are members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) which boasts seven teams ranked in the top 25.
• The Defenders are coached by Chad Hanson, who is in his 11th season with DU, with a record of 234-95. Prior to Dordt, Hanson was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia from 2008 to 2010.
• The Defenders are 17-9 on the season and finished in the GPAC Tournament Quarterfinals with a loss to No. 5 College of Saint Mary (Kan.). They are ranked No. 22 in the latest NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 poll.
• The Defenders have wins over seven wins over teams ranked or receiving votes in the Top 25 this season.
• The Defenders are making their 16th appearance in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship and are 43-27 all-time in the championship. Dordt advanced all the way to the NAIA National Championship semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Missouri Baptist.
PILOTS IN THE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
• The Pilots are making their third appearance at the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship and their second consecutive trip.
• The Pilots own an NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship record of 3-4. The Pilots won their Opening Round match last year at Reinhardt (Ga.), advancing to the final site where they lost matches in Pool Play to No. 8 Eastern Oregon and No. 9 Central Methodist (Mo.).
THE BRACKET BREAKDOWN
• The bracket consists of 24, two-team Opening Round sites. The 24 winners of those Opening Round matchups will advance to the final site in Sioux City.
• The field consists of 36 automatic berths and 12 at-large selections. The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions or runners-up, conference tournament title winners or runners-up, or by conference selection. The remaining at-large bids were determined by the final regular-season Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll announced last Wednesday.
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