VU women get first bid into NAIA tournament

The Vanguard University women’s volleyball team will play host to Union University of Tennessee in the first round of the NAIA tournament Saturday at 7 p.m.

No. 17-ranked Vanguard (15-10), making its first NAIA tournament appearance under first-year coach Marrisa Cothran, received one of nine at-large berths into the 36-team field.

Union, a familiar rival of Vanguard in women’s basketball, is 27-7 and won the TranSouth Athletic Conference title.

Seven schools from the Golden State Athletic Conference, in which the Lions finished seventh, will represent the conference. This is the first time more than four schools from a conference have been selected to take part, due to a rules change.

The winners of 12 first-round matches will join a 24-school field that will be broken into six four-team pools. Round-robin pool play begins Dec. 2, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to a 12-team, single-elimination tournament that begins Dec. 5 and concludes Dec. 6.

Pool play and the championship bracket will be played at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

— From staff reports