Women's Volleyball | 11/20/2016 5:12:00 PM

Columbia, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the pool assignments and schedule for the 2016 NAIA Volleyball National Championship.  The 12 winners from the National Championship Opening Round games played on Nov. 19 will join the 19 teams that received an opening round bye and host Morningside (Iowa) to form the 32-team field.

The 32 programs, which start action on Nov. 29, are divided into eight pools with four teams in each pool. This season saw the field expand to 44 teams, increasing the number of pools. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the single-elimination bracket starting Dec. 2.

Columbia College has been assigned to pool A in the tournament and will face off against Indiana Wesleyan University on Tuesday, November 29^th at 3 p.m., Westmont (Calif.) College on Wednesday, November 30^th at 1 p.m., and IU Kokomo (Ind.) on Thursday, December 1^st at 1 p.m. All of the matches will take place in the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Westmont (Calif.) College comes into the national championships as the number one seed after finishing the season with a perfect 31-0 record. They are led by Libby Dahlberg who ranks fourth in the NAIA in hitting percentage (0.399) and 13^th in blocks per game (1.250). As a team, the Warriors rank sixth in the NAIA in hitting percentage (0.270) and 11^th in assists per game (12.590).

Indiana Wesleyan University is the 16^th seed in the tournament after finishing the season with an overall record of 34-2. The Wildcats defeated the Cougars earlier this season in the Grandview tournament sweeping Columbia College in three straight sets. They rank third in the NAIA in assists per game (12.850) and seventh in hitting percentage (0.269).

IU Kokomo comes into the tournament after defeating Ottawa (Kan.) University in five sets on Saturday. They are the 32^nd seed in the tournament and have an overall record of 27-7 on the season. They are led by Lindi Thomas who leads the team in total service aces (55) and service aces per game (0.500).

The NAIA Network – the association's official video streaming home – will broadcast all 63 matches (including 48 pool-play matches) live at the 2016 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 (Nov. 29 – Dec. 2) and an all-championship package is available at $39.95. For more information and the pre-register, click here.

As always, the Cougars own Tex Little will also have the call from the Tyson Events Center for you to listen to live and free of charge. Links will be available on the volleyball schedule page once they are available.

For more information on the 2016 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round and National Championship final site, visit www.naia.org.