Eight Teams Will Compete in NCAA Volleyball Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (November 26, 2023) - The Southeastern Conference led all conferences with eight teams selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.

Kentucky, the SEC regular-season champion, received the automatic qualification for the SEC, while Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M joined the 64-team field with their at-large bids to the NCAA Championship.

For the second year, the top 32 teams were seeded nationally in pods of four and placed within four regions. Per the established bracketing principles, the top seeds were provided the opportunity to host. Additionally, team pairings are determined within the pods (ones paired with eights, twos paired with sevens, threes paired with sixes and fours paired with fives) and assigned geographically within their pods, with the exception that teams from the same conference are not paired during the first- and second rounds.

First- and second-round matches will be played November 30 - December 3 at 16 campus sites. Teams winning both matches will continue to regional play December 7 and 9. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced on December 4. At each site, four teams will compete in single elimination regional semifinal competition.

The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final hosted by the University of South Florida, in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission on December 14 and 17 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The national semifinal matches will be broadcast on ESPN, and the championship match will broadcast on ABC.

Arkansas (25-5) earned the No. 3 seed in the Nebraska Regional and will host first- and second-round matches at Barnhill Arena. Competition begins on Friday, December 1 with TCU versus No. 6 Florida State at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. CT. The second-round match is slated for Saturday, December 2 at 7 p.m. CT.

Auburn (20-9) claimed its second consecutive berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The No. 7 seeded Tigers will face Western Michigan in the first round of the Louisville Regional on Thursday, November 30 at 3 p.m. CT at the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The winner will take on either host and No. 7 Louisville or Wright State on Saturday, December 2 1 at 6 p.m. CT.

Florida (18-9), the No. 4 seed in the Nebraska region, will host its first- and second-round matches at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center beginning on Thursday, November 30. The Gators will face Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, while Georgia Tech and Southern Alabama will square off at 4:30 p.m. ET. The winners of each match will face one another on Friday, December 1 at 7 p.m. ET.

Georgia (19-11) will play No. 5 Arizona State in the first round on Friday, December 1 at Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of BYU in Provo, Utah. First serve against the Sun Devils is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The winner will advance to the second round and face the winner between fourth-seeded BYU and Weber State on Saturday, December 2 at 9 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+.

Kentucky (19-7), the No. 8 overall seed, will play host to James Madison, Baylor and Wofford at the Central Bank Center in Rupp Arena with first- and second-round matches beginning Thursday, November 30. James Madison will open play against Baylor at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by Kentucky playing host to Wofford. All matches from Lexington can be seen on ESPN+.

Missouri (17-12) makes its first return to the NCAA Tournament since 2020. The Tigers are the No. 8 seed of the Nebraska Regional and will face Delaware in the first round on Friday, December 1 at 4:30 p.m. CT at the Devaney Center. Host and top-seeded Nebraska will take on LIU at 7 p.m. CT on Friday. The winners of those two matches will square off in the second round on Saturday, December 2 at 7 p.m. CT.

Tennessee (24-4) earned the No. 10 national seed, UT's highest seed in program history. Hosting NCAA first- and second-round matches for the first time since 2011, Tennessee opens with High Point on Friday, December 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Food City Center. The Lady Vols will also host No. 6 seed Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina, who also face off Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The winners advance to the second-round match on Saturday, December 2 at 6 p.m. ET.

Texas A&M (16-12) captured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Aggies will take on No. 2 Texas in the Stanford Regional on Thursday, November 30 at 6 p.m. CT at Gregory Gymnasium. The Longhorns will also host Texas State and SMU for a 4 p.m. CT match. The winners will advance to the second round on Friday, December 1 for a 7 p.m. CT match.