| Year: | 2020 |
| Finalfourarena: | CHI Health Center Omaha |
| Finalfourcity: | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Champions: | Kentucky |
| Titlecount: | 1st |
| Runnerup: | Texas |
| Gamecount: | 7th |
| Semifinal1: | Washington |
| Finalfourcount: | 5th |
| Semifinal2: | Wisconsin |
| Finalfourcount2: | 4th |
| Coach: | Craig Skinner |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Madison Lilley |
| Mopteam: | (Kentucky) |
| Alltournamentteam: | Alli Stumler (Kentucky) Avery Skinner (Kentucky) Brionne Butler (Texas) Logan Eggleston (Texas) Samantha Drechsel (Washington) Devyn Robinson (Wisconsin) |
The 2020 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on April 14, 2021, and concluded on April 24 at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. The tournament field was announced on April 4, 2021.[1] Typically held in the fall, this edition of the tournament was held in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kentucky beat Texas in the final to claim the first national volleyball championship not only for Kentucky, but also for its home of the Southeastern Conference.[2]
First round, second round and Regional semifinals (April 14, 15 and 18)
Regional Finals, National semifinals and championship (April 19, 22 and 24)
All games were played at the CHI Health Center Omaha. Twelve courts were built in the Convention Center portion of the building, 8 for practices and 4 for games. Attendance was limited to 80 people per game for the first and second rounds, mostly consisting of team family members. Additional fans were admitted as teams went home. Games moved from the convention center to the CHI Health Center Omaha arena for the regional finals, semifinals, and national championship.
The following teams automatically qualified for the 2020 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. Only 30 conference champions[3] received automatic qualifiers after the Big West Conference[4] and Ivy League[5] chose not to have a 2020 fall or 2021 spring season. This was the first tournament appearance for North Carolina A&T and Utah Valley.[6]
| Conference | Team | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | Louisville | 14−2 | |
| America East | UMBC | 11–3 | |
| American | 16−1 | ||
| ASUN | 17−2 | ||
| Atlantic 10 | 13−1 | ||
| Big 12 | Texas | 23–1 | |
| Big East | 12–3 | ||
| Big Sky | Weber State | 18–1 | |
| Big South | High Point | 16–0 | |
| Big Ten | Wisconsin | 13–0 | |
| Big West | Big West Conference season canceled | ||
| Colonial | 6–0 | ||
| C-USA | 21–0 | ||
| Horizon | Wright State | 16–1 | |
| Ivy | Ivy League season canceled | ||
| MAAC | Rider | 7–4 | |
| MAC | Bowling Green | 22–1 | |
| MEAC | North Carolina A&T | 11–1 | |
| Missouri Valley | Illinois State | 16–5 | |
| Mountain West | 12–0 | ||
| Northeast | LIU | 9–5 | |
| Ohio Valley | Morehead State | 16–1 | |
| Pac-12 | Washington | 17–3 | |
| Patriot | Army West Point | 16–2 | |
| SEC | Kentucky | 19–1 | |
| Southern | 15–3 | ||
| Southland | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 14–4 | |
| SWAC | Jackson State | 11–0 | |
| Summit | 15–6 | ||
| Sun Belt | Texas State | 30–8 | |
| West Coast | 16–1 | ||
| WAC | Utah Valley | 14–5 |
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Due to BYU's "No Sunday Play" policy, the BYU regional semifinal was moved to April 17.
For the first time ever all matches will air on the ESPN Family of networks. Rounds 1 and 2 will stream on ESPN3. Initially ESPN didn't plan to provide commentators for these rounds.[7] After criticism from fans and coaches they changed course and announced they would provide commentary for the first two rounds.[8] The regional semifinals will have select matches on ESPN2 and ESPNU with the remainder on ESPN3. All regional finals will air on ESPN2 or ESPNU, ESPN will carry the semifinals, and ESPN2 will carry the national championship.[9]
First & Second Rounds
Regional semifinals & Regional Finals
Semifinals & national championship
| Conference | Bids | Record | Win % | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CM | NC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 3 | 8–2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Big 12 | 2 | 5–2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Big Ten | 6 | 10–6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Pac-12 | 5 | 5–5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| ACC | 4 | 7–4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| West Coast | 3 | 3–3 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| C-USA | 2 | 2–2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Atlantic 10 | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Big Sky | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Big South | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Horizon | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| MEAC | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mountain West | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sun Belt | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | |||||||
| 12 Others | 12 | 0–12 |