Complete NIVC Bracket

FORT COLLINS, CO – The final chapter of the New Mexico State volleyball season is yet to be written. 
 
On Sunday evening, the Aggies were selected as one of 31 teams to make up the field for the 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). NM State is set to take on UNLV on Friday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. (MT). The meeting with UNLV will be in Tucson, Ariz., as the University of Arizona plays host for the first and second rounds.

"We're looking forward to playing a very good UNLV team," head coach Mike Jordan said. "They finished second in the Mountain West and have a couple of Pac-12 wins under their belt. This team has had to deal with so many obstacles this past year, yet we still found a way to put a really good team on the floor most nights. I'm proud of this group of players who have persevered. Combining spring and fall, we're 35-11 with two WAC regular season titles and a Power 5 win. There are a ton of teams who'd be really happy with that. We strive for a little more here and expectations are high and probably unfair. This group plays hurt; some play out of position and they just go compete. This tournament is a great opportunity to get a few more days of practice and let them battle another really good team."
 
Fellow WAC foe UT Rio Grande Valley will also be in Arizona as they take on the hometown Wildcats following the NM State match. The winners of the first-round matchups will then face each other on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. for an opportunity to advance to Round 3.
 
After the reboot of the NIVC Tournament in 2017, the postseason tournament took a year off last season due to COVID-19. Previously, the event ran from 1989-95. First and second-round action will take place at host sites around the nation from Dec. 2-5, while Round 3 is scheduled for Dec. 6-8.
 
Complete coverage of the 2021 NIVC Tournament can be found at womensnivc.com.