Volleyball Accepts At-Large Bid Into NIVC

MUNCIE, Ind. - - It's time to get excited Ball State women's volleyball fans, as the Cardinals have accepted an at-large bid into the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

Ball State (22-9) opens competition in the 32-team event Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. match versus Valparaiso (25-10) at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio. The winner will advance to battle either Northern Kentucky (21-9) or pod host Miami (OH) (22-8) Friday at 7 p.m. with a trip to the round of eight on the line.

"We could not be more excited to compete in the NIVC," head coach Kelli Miller said. "This is a great group of women who love to compete together and are looking forward to extending their season. It is such great student-athlete experience to compete in post-season play, and this will help our program continue to grow and develop in the future. I also want to say how thankful I am to our administration for supporting us in our pursuit to compete in the NIVC."

Produced by Triple Crown Sports, this is the ninth season for the NIVC and just the second since 1995. The NIVC was held for seven seasons (1989-95) as a 20-team event and was reestablished in 2017 with a 32-team field. This will be Ball State's first-ever appearance in the event.

Much like the WNIT & NIT events in college basketball, which are also produced by Triple Crown Sports, the NIVC taps into the impressive depth of D-I volleyball and is designed to give more high-performing, highly skilled programs a chance to play for a postseason title.

The first round will kick off Thursday, Nov. 29, with the event culminating on Tuesday, Dec. 11 with the championship.

Round 1 & 2– Nov. 29-30 & Dec. 1-2
Round 3 – Dec. 5-7
Semifinals – Dec. 7-9
Championship – Tuesday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. ET

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.

- BallStateSports.com -

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