Lady Rams to host NAIA Women’s Volleyball Tournament Opening Round

The NAIA has announced Texas Wesleyan as a host site for 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. The Lady Rams will host Huston-Tillotson this Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Sid Richardson Center. The NAIA released the 44-team event qualifiers and sites on Monday.
 
12 National Championship Opening Round matches will take place all around the country, including one in Fort Worth. The six winners will move on to national championship final site at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa from Dec. 3-7.
 
Tickets for admission to the Opening Round Match at the Sid Richardson Center:
 
Cash Only
Adults – $8
Youth/Students – $5
 
Can’t make it to the game? Watch the action online in HD at www.RamSports.net/Live. Live Stream Broadcast price: $7.95
 
The TXWES Lady Rams and HTU Rams are set for a Texas Clash at the Sid Richardson Center this Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
The Road to the Opening Round
 
For TXWES
 
The Lady Rams were picked second in the SAC, and didn’t disappoint, taking second in the regular season standing before finishing as the SAC Tournament Runner-Up.  
 
The team hit its stride after a 5-set win at Wayland Baptist propelled a stretch of 44-4 in sets. TXWES has two streak of eight straight wins, going 16-1 heading into the SAC title match, the lone loss to No. 16 Oklahoma City.  The team will be playing in its 11th NAIA national tournament all-time, and return to the tourney for the third consecutive season.
 
For HTU
 
The HTU Rams were picked as the favorite to win the RRAC in the preseason poll, and did just that. Huston-Tillotson went 24-5 and 11-1 in conference play to secure the regular season title, but it was the conference tournament they needed to win for an automatic bid to nationals.
 
The HTU Rams were down 2-1 to Our Lady of the Lake in the Red River title, a team that gave HTU its only conference loss back on September 13 in the conference opener. HTU powered through, winning the fourth set 25-16, and taking the fifth 25-11 to win the conference championship and the bid to nationals, the very first in program history. The HTU Rams are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll.
 
TXWES Team Profile
 
24-8
2019 SAC Tournament Runner-Up
11th appearance at nationals, third consecutive trip
 
Team Stat Leaders
Aces – Brenda Pargas, 33
Kills – Arianna Alvarado, 343
Assists – Brenda Pargas, 661
Digs – Madison Lopez, 514
Blocks – Chastiny Brown, 96
 
All-Tournament Team recipients
Arianna Alvarado
Madison Lopez
 
All-Conference Award winners
Freshman of the Year, First Team – Arianna Alvarado
 
First Team
Chastiny Brown
Brenda Pargas
 
Second Team
Madison Lopez
Veronika Webb
 
Honorable Mention
Brianna Sitton
 
NAIA Team Rankings
26th in Hitting percentage (.220)
38th in Kills per game (12.880)
43rd in Assists per game (11.750)
 
NAIA Individual Rankings
Chastiny Brown ranks 47th in hitting percentage (.295)
Veronika Webb ranks 50th in hitting percentage (.292)
 
HTU Team Profile
 
Record: 26-5
1st RRAC Conference Championship
1st appearances at nationals
 
Team Stat Leaders
Aces – Brianna Domino, 26
Kills – Tiara Thompson, 300
Assists – Anabel Bustamente, 560
Digs – Mir Tillman, 480
Blocks – KeYonna Gannious, 130
 
All-Tournament Team recipients
MVP – Brianna Domino
Anabel Bustamente
Mir Tillman
 
All-Conference Award winners
Front Row Player of the Year, First Team – Tiara Thompson
Co-Setter of the Year, First Team – Anabel Bustamente
Defensive Specialist of the Year, First Team – Mir Tillman
Coach of the Year – Dan Behnke
 
First Team
Brianna Domino
 
Second Team
Valencia Barrett
Adna De Andrade
KeYonna Ganious
Tatyana Tyson
 
Honorable Mention
Savannah Garza
 
NAIA Team Rankings
10th in Block per Game (2.430)
20th in Total Blocks (267)
36th in Hitting Percentage (.209)
 
NAIA Individual Rankings
KeYonna Gannious ranks 12 th in Blocks per Game (1.230)
KeYonna Gannious ranks 19 in Total Blocks (130)
Qualifier Highlights

The Great Plains Athletic Conference dominates the field with five qualifying teams: Concordia (Neb.), Jamestown (N.D.), Morningside (Iowa), Northwestern (Iowa) and Saint Mary (Neb.).

Four conferences had three qualifying teams: Appalachian Athletic Conference, American Midwest Conference, Cascade Collegiate Conference, and the North Star Athletic Association.

There are nine teams in the 2019 field that are making an appearance in the championship for the first time: Point (Ga.), Lincoln (Ill.), Saint Mary (Kan.), Dakota State (S.D.), Martin Methodist (Tenn.), William Carey (Miss.), Florida Memorial and Lawrence Tech (Mich.).

There are eight teams in the 2019 field that are making their 10th or higher appearance at the national championship: Texas Wesleyan, Missouri Baptist, Southern Oregon, Bellevue (Neb.), Westmont (Calif.), Northwestern (Iowa), Madonna (Mich.), Columbia (Mo.).

Columbia holds the highest number of appearances overall in the national tournament at 26. They are the only team in the 2019 field and in all of NAIA women’s volleyball that has more than 20 tournament appearances. The closest team to them is Georgetown (Ky.) with 20 total tournament appearances.

The 2018 national champion Park (Mo.) returns to the championship as the American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion. The Pirates entered the 2019 season at No. 1 and return to the No. 1 spot in the Top 25 poll for NAIA postseason.

There are three teams in the 2019 field that have previously won a title: Columbia (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (2017) and Park (2014, 2018).

Columbia is the only team in the tournament field to have won more than one title as well as the only team in the field to win a title in consecutive years (1998-99-01-15).

Indiana and Missouri yield the highest number of championship qualifiers with four each. Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Oregon followed with three.

Twenty-seven teams return to the championship after competing in the 2018 championship.

Saint Mary (Neb.) returns to the championship field after a 12-year drought. The Flames return to the national championship for the first time since 2006.

Opening Round Match-Ups
Lincoln Christian (Ill.) at No. 20 Saint Mary (Neb.)
Menlo (Calif.) at No. 21 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
Lincoln (Ill.) at No. 23 Bellevue (Neb.)
Florida Memorial at No. 24 Reinhardt (Ga.)
Point (Ga.) at Westmont (Calif.)
IU Kokomo (Ind.) at Trinity Christian (Ill.)
William Carey (Miss.) at Xavier (La.)
IU South Bend (Ind.) at Madonna (Mich.)
Brescia (Ky.) at Ottawa (Kan.)
Huston-Tillotson (Texas) at Texas Wesleyan
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at Milligan (Tenn.)
No. 22 Dakota State (S.D.) at Saint Mary (Kan.)
 
Qualifier Information

 
Final Site Tournament Information
The top 19 seeds and championship host Morningside (Iowa) automatically advance to the national championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. Action inside the Tyson Events Center starts with three days of pool play from Dec. 3-5. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on Dec. 6, and the national champion will be crowned Dec. 7 with first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.
This year’s field includes 36 automatic qualifiers, 7 at-large selections and one host berth (Morningside). The automatic berths are determined by regular-season champions or runner-ups, conference tournament title winners or runner-ups. The remaining at-large bids were determined by the final regular-season Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll announced Monday. Final site pools will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 24, and released by 5 p.m. CST
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches excluding the semifinals and championship matches live at the 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while a pool play pass is $24.95 (Dec. 3-5) and a championship package is available at $39.95. You can also buy an All-Championship pass and watch every championship streamed on the NAIA Network in 2018.
The semifinal and championship matches will be streamed via ESPN3.