SIOUX CITY, Iowa – After an impressive victory in the NAIA Opening Round, the Corban University volleyball team will now look ahead to the NAIA Championship Final Site, with the squad's pool play schedule officially announced on Monday afternoon.
For a complete look at the 2018 NAIA Volleyball Championship bracket and schedule, CLICK HERE.
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The Warriors will compete as the No. 3 seed in Pool E, which features No. 1-seeded Dordt College (Iowa), No. 2-seeded The Master's University (Calif.), and No. 4-seeded Reinhardt University (Ga.).
Pool play will take place from November 27-29 at the Tyson Event Center, with the Navy and Gold set to tackle each of the aforementioned teams in a round robin format. The top-two teams from each of the final site's eight pools will then advance to a single-elimination bracket, which will start on November 30.
Corban, which defeated Xavier University of Louisiana this past Saturday in the NAIA Opening Round in straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-16), earned its third-consecutive trip to the NAIA Championship Final Site. The Warriors boast a 21-11 overall record and are one of four Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) teams to be playing this year at the NAIA Final Site, with Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, and College of Idaho all also set to compete in Sioux City, Iowa.
In each of the last two years, Corban has advanced out of 'Pool Play' reaching the Final 16 in 2016 and the National Quarterfinals in 2017.
Below is a preview of the teams competing alongside Corban in Pool E, organized by the order in which Corban will compete against them.
(#2) The Master's University - November 27, 5 p.m. CST
The Mustangs (29-5) will look to build upon what has been a tremendous bounce-back campaign in 2018, during which the squad finished 18 wins above its 2017 total. The Master's will make its first NAIA National Tournament appearance in five years after claiming the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) tournament crown and earning a bye to the NAIA Final Site. Competing in one of the country's top conferences, the Mustangs also claimed the program's first-ever GSAC regular-season title in 2018, establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.
(#1) Dordt College - November 28, 6 p.m. CST
Dordt (27-2) enters final site play as the No. 1 seed of the pool after earning the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular-season and conference tournament championships. There is a little bit of history between the Warriors and the Defenders, with Dordt eliminating Corban two years ago when the two teams squared-off at the final site. The squads also met earlier this season, with Dordt claiming a straight-set victory on August 24 against the Navy and Gold. The Defenders—located just an hour away from the Tyson Event Center—are no stranger to the final site stage, having reached the NAIA Championship match in each of the past two seasons. Finishing as the national runner-up two years in a row, Dordt will undoubtedly be motivated to reach the summit in 2018.
(#4) Reinhardt University - November 29, 6 p.m. CST
Rounding out Corban's pool play regiment is No. 4-seeded Reinhardt (34-6), which will be competing in its first-ever NAIA National Tournament, coming off a record-setting season featuring a program-high in wins, an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) South Division regular-season title, and a conference tournament championship. Led by Tessa Colden (2.80 kills per set, .264 hitting percentage) and Cheetara Bing (292 totals kills, 2.34 kills per set), Reinhardt will look to continue its magical season with a strong showing at the NAIA Final Site.
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