| National Invitational Volleyball Championship | |
| Year: | 2017 |
| Dates: | November 28–December 12, 2017 |
| Num Teams: | 32 |
| Champions: | Mississippi "Ole Miss" Rebels |
| Runner-Up: | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| Matches: | 31 |
| Player: | Emily Stroup, Ole Miss |
| Prevseason: | 1995 |
| Nextseason: | 2018 |
The 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship began on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 and concluded on Tuesday, December 12. The first 15 automatic qualifying teams were announced on Sunday, November 21, and the full field was announced after the NCAA Tournament selection show on the night of Sunday, November 26. All games were played at on-campus sites, and the finals were streamed live on ESPN3.[1]
Originally announced as featuring 64 teams, the inaugural tournament was limited to 32 teams.[2]
The University of Mississippi's "Ole Miss" Rebels hosted one of the eight regional tournaments, where they defeated Stephen F. Austin 3–0 and Arkansas State 3–1. While remaining a host team through the rest of the tournament, Ole Miss downed Georgia 3–0 in the quarterfinals, West Virginia 3–0 in the semifinals, and Texas Tech 3–0 in the championship match.[3]
Automatic qualifications (AQ) were granted to the best team from each of the 32 conferences that was not invited to the 2017 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament. An automatic qualifier from any conference that declined a bid vacated the qualifier for that conference.[4] Invitations were declined by nine teams and/or their conferences. Three conferences were given at-large bids but no AQs, based on criteria set by Triple Crown Sports. Vacancies were filled by at-large bids offered to the teams with the highest RPI, regardless of conference or geographic location. Teams were assigned to four-team geographic regionals that met at on-campus sites.[5]
| RPI[6] | School | Conference | Record | RPI | School | Conference | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 28–3 | 57 | 19–10 | ||||||||||||
| 65 | 26–5 | 69 | 24–9 | ||||||||||||
| 72 | 16–12 | 76 | 17–9 | ||||||||||||
| 78 | 26–9 | 79 | 21–7 | ||||||||||||
| 87 | 17–13 | 88 | 20–11 | ||||||||||||
| 90 | 23–6 | 98 | 16–13 | ||||||||||||
| 100 | 19–12 | 101 | Stephen F. Austin | 26–7 | |||||||||||
| 107 | 15–13 | 123 | 17–11 | ||||||||||||
| 157 | 20–11 | 160 | 11–14 | ||||||||||||
| 220 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 27–8 | 312 | 14–19 | |||||||||||
| — | No AQ, 2 At-Large bids | — | No AQ, 1 At-Large bid | ||||||||||||
| — | No AQ, 1 At-Large bid | — | Conference and/or team declined invitation | ASUN | — | ||||||||||
| — | Conference and/or team declined invitation | — | Big East | ||||||||||||
| Ivy | |||||||||||||||
| NEC | |||||||||||||||
| WAC | |||||||||||||||
| RPI | School | Conference | Record | RPI | School | Conference | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 21–8 | 77 | 20–9 | |||||
| 80 | 11–16 | 82 | 17–14 | |||||
| 86 | 17–13 | 89 | 17–13 | |||||
| 96 | 20–11 | 104 | 15–15 | |||||
| 108 | 18–10 | 110 | 16–14 | |||||
| 118 | 15–13 | 127 | 19-11 |
All games were played at campus sites. The sixteen first and eight second round regional tournament games were played November 28–December 1, 2017. Four quarterfinal games were played December 3–6. The two semifinal games were played December 7–9. The final game was played at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, December 12 and live-streamed on ESPN3.
| Regions († = host) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stockton, CA[8] November 28–29 | Athens, GA[9] November 28–29 | Morgantown, WV[10] November 28–29 | Oxford, MS[11] November 29–30 |
| Pacific Tigers (16–13) † | Georgia Lady Bulldogs (19–10) † | West Virginia Mountaineers (16–12) † | Ole Miss Rebels (17–14) † |
| Boise State Broncos (17–13) | Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs (14–19) | Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (27–8) | Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (26–7) |
| Sacramento State Hornets (26–9) | UNC Greensboro Spartans (19–11) | Campbell Lady Camels (20–11) | Arkansas State Red Wolves (20–11) |
| UC Irvine Anteaters (21–7) | UCF Knights (17–13) | Temple Owls (17–9) | SIU Edwardsville Cougars (23–6) |
| Denton, TX[12] November 30–December 1 | Green Bay, WI[13] November 30–December 1 | San Marcos, TX[14] November 30–December 1 | Hamilton, NY[15] November 30–December 1 |
| North Texas Mean Green (28–3) † | Green Bay Phoenix (15–15) † | Texas State Bobcats (24–9) † | Colgate Raiders (18–10) † |
| Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (15–13) | Bowling Green Falcons (17–11) | Rice Owls (21–8) | Towson Tigers (26–5) |
| Wyoming Cowgirls (17–13) | IUPUI Jaguars (16–14) | Texas Tech Red Raiders (15–13) | Albany Great Danes (11–14) |
| TCU Horned Frogs (11–16) | Illinois State Redbirds (20–11) | SMU Mustangs (20–9) | Syracuse Orange (19–12) |
Source = [16]
| Player | School | Class | Hometown (High school) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Stroup (MVP) | Ole Miss | Sophomore | Fargo, ND (Fargo South) | |
| Kate Gibson | Ole Miss | Senior | Sedalia, CO (Valor Christian) | |
| Caroline Adams | Ole Miss | Junior | Lafayette, LA (St. Thomas More Catholic) | |
| Missy Owens | Texas Tech | RS Junior | Yorba Linda, CA (Yorba Linda) | |
| Kate Klepetka | Texas Tech | RS Senior | Allen, TX (Allen) | |
| Mia Swanegan | West Virginia | Senior | Blue Springs, MO (Blue Springs South) | |
| Anna Walsh | TCU | Junior | Grapevine, TX (Colleyville Heritage) |