KISSIMMEE, Fla. --- Biola Volleyball (22-7) begins play at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship on Thursday with two pool play games at the Kissimmee Civic Center.
The Eagles enter the 10-team tournament as the No. 1 overall seed on the merit of being the top team in the NCCAA's volleyball
power rankings. Biola was No. 1 overall in all five editions of the NCCAA Power Rankings released this season.
The coaches' poll was a different story as Biola finally rose to No. 2 in the
NCCAA Top-10 Coaches' Poll in the final regular season poll released earlier this month. The one team ranked higher than the Eagles is not in the tournament field, because Indiana Wesleyan is competing at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The Eagles had been held down to between fifth and seventh in the poll for most of the year.
Biola shares a pool with
Emmanuel College (17-11),
McMurry University (23-7),
Grace College (21-15) and
Bluefield College (25-13). The Eagles have never faced any of those programs.
This year's NCCAA tournament field features representatives from the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and also some schools who call the NCCAA their primary national athletic affiliation. It's the only athletic organization that has representation from all of those levels.
Biola's pool is comprised of one DII team (BU), one DIII team (McMurry) and three NAIA programs. Southern Wesleyan and Oakland City are the only other NCAA Division II teams in this year's field.
The Eagles begin play on Thursday with a 9:00 a.m. (PT) matchup with Bluefield and a 3:00 p.m. (PT) contest against McMurry. Pool play concludes on Friday with a 7:00 a.m. (PT) match with Grace and 1:00 p.m. (PT) finale against Emmanuel. If the Eagles are able to advance the tournament semifinals and championship are held on Saturday at the Civic Center.
The only team in the tournament field that has seen Biola already this season is the No. 7 seed
Life Pacific Warriors. Head Coach
Aaron Seltzer's team beat the Warriors in three sets in the NCCAA West Region Championship earlier this year. The Warriors (23-10) made the field as an at-large bid and are in the other pool.
All matches of the tournament will be live streamed by Tourbeau Sports Group at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tourbeau/. There is a fee for the broadcast. It will be $6.95 per game or $34.95 for an all-tournament pass. Biola is guaranteed to play four matches and could play as many as six.
Live statistics for each match will be provided for free by the host school, Warner (Fla.). You can find those at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/warner/.
More information for those who may be traveling and need to know about tickets, parking, etc. can be found at
http://www.thenccaa.org/tournaments/?id=300. Check the links on the right-hand side of the page.
Later today the Eagles' tournament stay begins with a Christian Service Project at Second Harvest Food Bank in Orlando. Biola will join with two other teams to work on sorting food and helping pack boxes of food for people in the community, including serving kids from a local after school program.
ABOUT THE NCCAA:
The National Christian College Athletic Association, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit association, was incorporated to provide a Christian-based organization that functions uniquely as a national and international agency for the promotion of outreach and ministry, and for the maintenance, enhancement, and promotion of intercollegiate athletic competition with a Christian perspective.
The very existence of the NCCAA speaks to the need of a different game plan for college athletics in the midst of an era when the very foundations of our society are being eroded morally. The NCCAA wants to step into the gap and become a vehicle for implementing a positive and purposeful athletic experience in cooperation with member institutions and their student-athletes.
