The UTRGV volleyball team is set to compete in the postseason for the second time in its NCAA Division I program history, after earning a bid to the 2021 Women’s National Volleyball Invitational Championship (NIVC). The Vaqueros (17-10) open the NIVC against Arizona (16-15) at 7 p.m. Friday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
“I’m obviously super excited for the girls; (It) felt like something that they deserved. They worked hard for this opportunity,” UTRGV head coach Todd Lowery said of competing in the NIVC. “Having the support to go and extend our season a little bit, get another week in here and go and see what we can do one more time. We’re so young and just that opportunity to get another postseason match, I think it’s good for this team.”
Lowery said Arizona played common opponents such as New Mexico State and Texas at El Paso during the regular season that fared well against the Wildcats. UTRGV will attempt to do the same in the opening round of the NIVC.
“There’s some things that they do that are definitely going to cause us problems, and there’s things that we do that could give them a little bit of problems,” Lowery said. “It’ll really be how well we can serve the ball? Can we serve the ball at a high level and can we put a lot of pressure on their serve receive and can we do that consistently?”
The winner of Friday’s match advances to face the winner of New Mexico State (19-9) and UNLV (23-9) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
This is UTRGV’s first trip to the postseason since making the NCAA Tournament in 2016. The Vaqueros finished the regular season 17-10 overall and 9-4 in conference play for a fourth-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference.
The 2021 NIVC features 31 teams. Round 1 and 2 action is scheduled for Dec. 2-5, with Round 3 scheduled for Dec. 6-8. The semifinals will be held Dec. 8-11, and the championship match will be played Dec. 13 or 14.
This is the fourth edition of the NIVC since its reboot through Triple Crown Sports; the event previously ran from 1989-95. Previous champions of the current NIVC are Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss. (2017).
“With the explosive growth of volleyball, and how the maturing club scene has allowed dozens of DI programs to raise the bar of excellence in recruiting, it only makes sense to add to the postseason options in the college game,” NIVC director Jared Rudiger said. “Teams will chase an NIVC title as a reward for experienced rosters, or to provide a true learning experience for young players when it comes to the demands of the postseason.”
