Bears Continue Postseason in Arizona

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship with two wins at Georgia Southern Friday and Saturday.

The Bears (27-7) face Arkansas State (28-5), the third straight Sun Belt Conference opponent for UNC, at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the University of Arizona's McKale Center. The Wildcats (21-9) host Wyoming (17-12) in the other quarterfinal at 6 p.m., with the winners meeting in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday. All three games available on ESPN+

UNC defeated App State in the first round 3-1, before knocking off Georgia Southern Saturday in five sets.

The Bears played their fourth five-set match in the last five contests, winning three. The win on the Eagles' home floor was the first by a Georgia Southern opponent at Hanner Fieldhouse this season. It secured the most wins in one campaign for UNC during the NCAA Division I era.

Syd Cole and Gabi Placide earned American Volleyball Coaches Association West Region Honors, which the organization released earlier Tuesday.

POD SCHEDULE - FRIDAY
UNC (27-7) vs. Arkansas State (28-5) | 3 p.m. MT
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

Wyoming (17-12) at Arizona (21-9) | 6 p.m. MT
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

POD SCHEDULE – SATURDAY
Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner | 6 p.m. MT
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

2024 NIVC
Great 8
at DePaul, Dec. 9
Bowling Green 3, DePaul 1 (25-14, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18)
at Arizona, Dec. 11
Northern Colorado (27-7) vs. Arkansas State (28-5), 5 p.m. ET
Wyoming (17-12) vs. Arizona (21-9), 8 p.m. ET
at St. John's, Dec. 12
UConn (26-7) vs. St. John's (23-12), 7:30 p.m. ET

Fab Four
TBA
Arizona/Wyoming vs. Arkansas State/Northern Colorado
Bowling Green (24-9) vs. St. John's/UConn

2024 Round 1 & Super 16
In bracket order, here are the matchups, locations and match times for Rounds 1 and 2 (designated home team listed second):

At Arizona
Friday, Dec. 6
Pacific 3, Weber State 2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 12-25, 15-11)
Saturday, Dec. 7
Arizona 3, Pacific 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-17)

At Wyoming
Thursday, Dec. 5
Utah Valley 3, Washington State 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-20)
Wyoming 3, Idaho State 1 (25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21)
Friday, Dec. 6
Wyoming 3, Utah Valley 2 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12)

At Stephen F. Austin
Thursday, Dec. 5
Arkansas State 3, UTRGV 1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-13)
Stephen F. Austin 3, Jackson State 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-14)
Friday, Dec. 6
Arkansas State 3, SFA 2 (19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 16-25, 15-12)

At Georgia Southern
Friday, Dec. 6
Northern Colorado 3, Appalachian State 1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-22)
Georgia Southern 3, Southeast Missouri State 0 (28-26, 25-13, 25-13)
Saturday, Dec. 7
Northern Colorado 3, Georgia Southern 2 (25-18, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25, 15-10)

At Bowling Green
Wednesday, Dec. 4
Bowling Green 3, Binghamton 1 (25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15)
Thursday, Dec. 5
Bowling Green 3, Wright State 1 (25-18, 13-25, 25-23, 25-17)

At DePaul
Thursday, Dec. 5
Omaha 3, Lindenwood 2 (25-14, 19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13)
DePaul 3, Toledo 0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-16)
Friday, Dec. 6
DePaul 3, Omaha 2 (20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13)

At Virginia
Saturday, Dec. 7
St. John's 3, North Carolina A&T 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21)
Sunday, Dec. 8
St. John's 3 vs. Virginia 1 (25-21, 27-25, 25-23, 25-20)

At East Carolina
Thursday, Dec. 5
UConn 3, Mercer 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-12)
East Carolina 3, Winthrop 1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-11)
Friday, Dec. 6
UConn 3, East Carolina 1 (11-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18)

Great 8
December 9-12, 2024

Semifinals
December 12-14, 2024

Championship
December 15-18, 2024

ABOUT TRIPLE CROWN SPORTS
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing events in youth athletics and the college ranks for 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason NCAA DI WNIT basketball events and produces the men's and women's Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. In addition, TCS runs the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the only NCAA DI softball event played outside of the United States and the NISC, a "WNIT" model for DI softball. Triple Crown also operates one of the top club volleyball events in the country, the TC Volleyball NIT, which hosts 600 of the top clubs in the country and is played at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo.

ABOUT THE NIVC
Postseason NIVC Tournament Overview
The National Invitational Volleyball Championship will be an annual tournament involving 32 of the nation's top women's Division I Volleyball teams. All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools. Every round is a single elimination.

Format
The Postseason NIVC features 16 first-round games (potential play in games in each quad based on overall team numbers), followed by 8 second-round games, 4 third-round games, two semifinal games, and the championship. The championship game will be streamed by the host school. The event offers 32 automatic berths, one to each established conference, and 8 to 16 at-large berths. Not all conferences will have an AQ therefore; we will offer additional at-large berths to teams that meet the criteria to receive an invitation to the tournament. The NIVC field and bracket are announced late on the evening of the NCAA Tournament selections.

2024 Postseason NIVC
The tournament is a single-elimination event with all games played at sites of host schools. The NIVC is committed to offering deserved opportunities to women's Volleyball programs, and the Postseason NIVC featured a full 32-team bracket in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The tournament was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19. The NIVC offers teams an opportunity to get in more practice, to experience playoff-atmosphere games, to play in front of passionate fans and to use their NIVC success as a springboard to the next season.

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Syd Cole

Gabi Placide

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