INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- ODAC champion Washington and Lee University will have some help carrying the ODAC banner on the Division III Women's Volleyball Championship stage with conference runner-up Virginia Wesleyan University earning an at-large bid to the NCAA bracket as announced on Monday afternoon.
Championships in Division III feature a few changes in 2024-25 starting with a bracket increase for several sports. Women's Volleyball maintains a full 64-team bracket with 43 schools earning automatic bids like WLU and 21 garnering at-large nods like VWU.
The method in which at-large selections were determined also changed this season. New for all Division III team sports is the NCAA Power Index (NPI). All teams in a given sport -- 421 in D-III women's volleyball -- feature a NPI rating. Those NPI ratings are ranked sequentially and form a transparent method of selecting teams at-large to Division III brackets, replacing the former process of the sport championship committees selecting teams at-large based on predetermined selection criteria. Once the 43 automatic qualifiers are known, the next 21 best NPI-rated teams formed the list of at-large selected programs to fill out the bracket.
Washington and Lee (32-2) will open its tournament run at Christopher Newport University. The Generals open with John Jay College. The Bloodhounds (22-6) won the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) title on Friday.
A total of eight teams will be competing at CNU's Freeman Center. Stevens Institute (27-6) and Gallaudet University (30-4) will meet in the first round match attached to the WLU-JJC winner. The host Captains (24-9) meet William Paterson University (22-9) with the winner facing either East Texas Baptist State University (28-1) or Allegheny College (26-5) in round two.
Virginia Wesleyan (26-5) heads north to Huntingdon, Pa., and top-ranked Juniata College. VWU meets Springfield College in the first round. The Pride (22-7) are an at-large selection after falling in the semifinals of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament. The VWU-SC winner meets either the host Eagles (29-0) or Penn State Altoona (18-11) in round two.
Completing the eight-team pod are Salisbury University, Middlebury College, Gettysburg College, and Manhattanville University. The Sea Gulls (24-6) meet the Panthers (16-10), while the Bullets (23-5) and the Valiants (20-9) complete the first round pairings.
The national quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship will be hosted in ODAC country with the City of Salem and the ODAC co-hosting with Roanoke College at the Cregger Center. Matches begin on Wednesday, December 4 and continue on Thursday, December 5 and Saturday, December 7.
Stay tuned to ODAC and school websites for game times and ticketing information.