The Loyola men’s volleyball team is currently ranked 10th in the nation, but might not even make the NCAA Tournament. With a 19-7 record and comfortably in second place in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) conference, how could the Ramblers be at risk of missing out on competing for their third national championship in six years?
While the general format of NCAA volleyball is similar to the more well-known NCAA basketball, there are significant differences. The biggest is the number of teams competing at the Division I level. There are only 47 teams that compete for the volleyball NCAA Tournament, a fraction of the 351 teams vying for spots in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.