Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

Shawnee State to Host Opening Round of NAIA National Tournament

             The Shawnee State Volleyball team will host the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament as they play Union College (KY) on Saturday, Nov. 21. Game time is yet to be determined.
             Shawnee State University won the American Mideast Conference with a perfect 12-0 record to receive the school's second overall and second consecutive bid. The Bears finished the regular season with their best record in school history with an overall record of 30-3.
             Union College will make their first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament as they finished the regular season with an overall record of 29-4 and won both the Appalachian Athletic Conference and the tournament championships.
             The 30th NAIA Volleyball National Championship has the top 11 teams receiving opening round byes, while the next 24 teams will play in the opening round matches on Nov. 21. All matches will be played at on-campus sites.
             The winners of the NAIA National Championship Opening Rounds matches, as well as the teams that received first-round byes will advance to the Tyson Events Center Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, location of the NAIA National Championship presented by Siouxland Sports Medicine Foundation Dec. 1 through 5.
             The final 24 teams will be placed into six pools and will play a round robin pool play Dec. 1-3, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the single elimination bracket starting Dec. 4. The championship match will take place at 8 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 5.
             Final site pool assignment and schedule will be announced by Nov. 22 by 6 p.m. (CST).