Last night, the Portland Pilots volleyball was selected as one of 32 Division I teams to participate in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) postseason tournament for the first time in program history according to a Portland Pilots press release. It’s the first time the Pilots have ever played in the postseason.
The Pilots had one of their best seasons ever, starting with a 12-0 preseason record and culminating into an 18-12 record, the best in program history. Portland volleyball ended its season ranked eighth of 10 teams in the West Coast Conference, finishing 6-12 for conference play.
In the first round of the tournament, the Pilots will face the University of North Colorado Bears at University of Wyoming this Thursday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m.
The NIVC is a single-elimination tournament of top-tier Division I volleyball teams from conferences all over the country. According to the tournament website, teams are grouped according to team strength and geographic location.
NIVC teams are chosen after the NCAA makes their pick for the 2018 Division I Women’s Volleyball National Championship. The NCAA tournament takes the top teams from conferences around the country, and this year they chose five West Coast Conference teams.
This season, the Bears finished with an overall record of 15-13, and 10-7 conference record. In their conference, Big Sky, they finished sixth of 11 teams.
The winner of this match goes on to play either Utah Valley or Wyoming at Wyoming the next day, Friday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Morgan Wahler is a sports reporter at The Beacon. She can be reached at wahler20@up.edu.
