CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Daemen University is the No. 1 seed from the North Region for the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Championship and will begin the two-day tournament by facing the Tusculum Pioneers (No. 4 South) this Friday, April 22 at 1:30 p.m. The full tournament schedule was released by Queens University of Charlotte which will host the event at the Levine Center. The tournament features eight competing teams - all independent members of NCAA Division I-II - and each is guaranteed three contests.
Daemen grabbed the North's top seed after posting a 14-5 record through the regular season, establishing a new program record for wins. The Wildcats have won 12 of their last 15 contests and own a 3-0 record against IVA teams this season.
Led by head coach Don Gleason, Daemen's program is in its fourth season of existence. The Wildcats will be competing in the IVA Championship for the first time since 2019 - the program's inaugural campaign - when they placed fourth. The 2020 IVA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Wildcats chose not to partake in the tournament last spring. The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters, which earned the No. 1 seed from the South Region, has won three straight IVA titles.
Tusculum will enter the tournament with a record of 6-19. The Pioneers have dropped 10 of their last 11 outings.
Win or lose in their opening match Friday, Daemen will play again at 7:30 that evening against the winner/loser of the match between Queens (No. 2 South) and D'Youville (No. 3 North). The top half of the bracket features Lincoln Memorial facing Alderson Broaddus (No. 4 North) and Limestone (No. 3 South) taking on Fairleigh Dickinson (No. 2 North) at 10:30 a.m. Friday, followed by second round action at 5 p.m.
Saturday's action includes seventh and fifth place matches at 10:30 a.m., the third place match at 2:00 p.m. and the tournament championship at 5 p.m.
Live stats and streaming video are available for each match of the tournament. Visit the IVA Championship central webpage for links and more tournament information. A full tournament preview will be published at daemenwildcats.com later this week.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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