SIOUX CITY, Iowa (November 29, 2023) – The NAIA has announced the pool play pairings for the final site at the 2023 Volleyball National Tournament. St. Thomas (26-2, 14-0 SUN) was reseeded at no. 18 and put into Pool G with no. 7 Corban and no. 10 Jamestown. The Bobcats reached the final site with the Opening Round victory over Marian University from the Fernandez Family Center Gym on November 18, sweeping the Knights in three straight sets.
 
Championship History

• St. Thomas is back into pool play for the first time since 2003.
• The opening round win marks the first win in the new championship format established in 2008.
• This is just the third win in NAIA postseason history for the program.
• It is the program's sixth appearance overall.

 
Pool Play Pairings

• Jamestown is the reigning national champions winning the 2022 title.
• Corban is the reigning national runner-up.
• The two teams played a five-set match last year in the title game.
• The Bobcats have never faced off against Corban.
• Jamestown and the Bobcats have a split history at 1-1 with the most recent matchup coming in 2018.

 
St. Thomas Highlights

• Overall Record: 26-2 ; SUN Record: 14-0
• St. Thomas comes in on a 21-match win streak.
• Sun Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions
• Swept Marian in the Opening Round to clinch their berth to Sioux City.
• Seven All-Conference members for the first time in SUN and STU history.
• Ranked 22^nd in the final coaches' poll, comes in as the no. 18 seed at the final site.

 
Corban Highlights

• Overall Record: 27-6 ; CCC Record: 19-3
• Corban punched their ticket into the postseason with an automatic berth as the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-Up.
• Corban finished the season ranked no. 7 in the final NAIA Coaches' Top-25 Poll.
• The Warriors were the CCC Regular Season and Tournament Runner-Up.
• They reach the final site with a 3-0 Opening Round win over Aquinas College, the WHAC Runner-Up.

 

By the Numbers
CORBAN		ST. THOMAS
12.9	KILLS PER SET	13.7
.235	HITTING %	.242
12.0	ASSISTS PER SET	12.8
200	SERVICE ACES	170
15.0	DIGS PER SET	15.8
2.5	BLOCKS PER SET	2.2

 
Jamestown Preview

• Overall Record: 24-9 ; GPAC Record: 14-2
• Jamestown won a share of the Greater Plains Athletic Conference regular season crown that was split three ways with Northwestern and Concordia.
• The Jimmies won their opening round in five sets over Benedictine.
• UJ fell in the GPAC semifinals to Concordia 3-0 and qualified for the national tournament with an at-large bid.
• Jamestown finished the season ranked 9^th in the final NAIA coaches' Top-25 Poll.

 

By the Numbers
JAMESTOWN		ST. THOMAS
13.6	KILLS PER SET	13.7
.228	HITTING %	.242
12.49	ASSISTS PER SET	12.8
179	SERVICE ACES	170
18.9	DIGS PER SET	15.8
2.3	BLOCKS PER SET	2.2

 
Players to Watch
Bianca Grassi

• Grassi comes off another great season winning her third straight Sun Conference Libero of the Year honor.
• The junior averages 5.27 digs per set this season with 480 total digs.
• Grassi became the all-time leader in digs for the Bobcats in just the first tournament of the season, she sits at 1,563.
• Grassi was named to her third first-team All-Conference recognition.
• The Italian won four SUN Defender of the Week awards this season to bring her career total to 15.

 
Payton Bertke

• Payton Bertke has come in and made a direct impact for the Bobcats.
• The freshmen won the program's first ever Setter of the Year honor.
• Bertke led the conference in assists per set at 10.63 which ranks 11^th in the NAIA.
• The Ohio-native won three Setter of the Week honors and was a First-Team All-Conference member.

 
Sana Dennis

• Dennis has been a staple middle blocker for the Bobcats in her three years.
• The junior led the conference in hitting percentage at .372 and blocks per set at 1.13.
• It has been a standout season for the Atlanta-native after earning her first SUN Defender of the Week and first All-Conference recognition on first team.
• Dennis also reached the milestone of surpassing 500 career kills and 200 career blocks.
• She is just the second Bobcat to go 500/200 and the fourth overall to hit the 200-career block mark. Dennis sits at second all-time with 236 blocks.
• On 11/11, Dennis had just the program's third ever double-double in blocks and kills at Keiser going for 10 kills and a career-high 12 blocks.

 
St. Thomas takes on Corban on Wednesday, November 29 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Then finish pool play against Jamestown on Thursday, November 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. All tournament information can be found here.