Men's Volleyball Earns At-Large NCAA Tournament Bid for Back-to-Back Appearances
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- The #6 Juniata men's volleyball team has earned a spot in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament and will face Springfield College in the first round.
Juniata earned a berth via one of two available Pool C bids. Pool C consists of institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams (independent programs).
The Eagles will face Springfield in the first round of the Stevens Institute of Technology regional on Friday, April 19th. The winner of that match will play the winner of Stevens against Hiram College in the regional final on Saturday to earn a trip to the Final Four next week at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
Juniata enters the tournament ranked #6 in the AVCA poll with a 25-6, 7-1 record so far in 2024. Juniata advanced to the CVC Tournament championship before falling to #1 Southern Virginia.
Springfield enters the tournament as the #13 team in the AVCA poll following a season that's produced a 19-6 season that earned the Pride a Poll B bid. Pool B consists of independents and members whose conferences do not meet automatic qualification requirements. Juniata faces Springfield for the first time since 2014 and holds a 25-21 record against the Pride, who were a regular opponent from the late 1990s through the early 2010s. It'll be a rematch of the 2014 NCAA DIII National Championship match which Springfield won in straight sets.
The #2 Stevens Ducks enter the tournament following the program's third-straight Middle Atlantic Conference Championship with a victory over #16 Misericordia in the championship match. They are 31-1 and 8-0 in the MAC, carrying a 28-match winning streak into the tournament. Juniata faced the Ducks twice early in the season, falling both times in four sets.
Hiram swept Saint Vincent in the AMCC Tournament Championship match to earn the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance. They'll carry a nine-game winning streak into tournament play following a 20-11, 8-1 regular season, in which they avenged their long regular season conference loss to Saint Vincent. Juniata is 4-0 against the Terriers and earned a straight-set win at Hiram in February.
Juniata earns a spot in the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in program history and for the first time using an at-large bid. Juniata previously qualified for the tournament following CVC Tournament Championships in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2023, making this the program's second time with back-to-back appearances.
Juniata is 4-4 in the NCAA Tournament, advancing the farthest with a Championship appearance in 2014. Last season, the Eagles advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Messiah.
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Friday, April 19th
Saturday, April 20th
Streaming information will be shared when available.