ARLINGTON --- The UT Arlington volleyball team (20-10) earned a berth in postseason play Sunday as the Women's National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) announced its 32-team, single-elimination postseason bracket.
 
The Mavs will face Florida Atlantic (20-12) at 6 p.m. CT on Friday. The winner would advance to face either UTEP or North Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. Both matches will be hosted by UTEP in El Paso.
 
It is UTA's third appearance in the NIVC, joining the 2019 and 1992 teams. In 2019, the Mavs knocked off UTSA and Sam Houston to advance to the quarterfinal round, where they fell in five sets on the road against South Dakota. In 1992, they competed in four pool play matches, finishing 3-1 with wins over Delaware, Fresno State and Virginia Tech while falling to BGSU.
 
The bracket features eight host schools, with action set to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The championship match is slated for Dec. 10, 11 or 12 – all matches are held on campus locations. A total of six programs won or had a share of their regular season conference championship, and 17 teams in the 32-team field won at least 20 matches this season.

The event previously ran from 1989-95; champions of the current NIVC era include Boston College (2022), UNLV (2021), Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).
 
Automatic qualifiers (*- won or had share of regular season conference title)
Buffalo (23-8) – Mid-American*
Citadel (27-3) – Southern*
Drake (22-10) – Missouri Valley
Howard (17-14) – Mid-Eastern Athletic
Sacramento State (21-11) – Big Sky*
St. John's (23-10) – Big East
​South Florida (19-11) – American*
UMKC (22-8) – Summit*
Wichita State (21-8) – American
Winthrop (14-13) – Big South
 
At-Large Selections
Arkansas State (16-14) – Sun Belt
Ball State (16-14) – Mid-American
Chicago State (13-8) – Independent
Clemson (17-13) – Atlantic Coast
DePaul (17-14) – Big East
East Carolina (20-10) – American
Eastern Kentucky (21-8) – Atlantic Sun
Florida Atlantic (20-12) – American
Georgia Southern (21-8) – Sun Belt
Middle Tennessee (20-9) – Conference USA
Montana State (21-8) – Big Sky
North Texas (17-15) – American
Northern Colorado (17-11) – Big Sky
Pacific (18-10) – West Coast
South Dakota (18-10) – Summit*
Southern Illinois (20-11) – Missouri Valley
Tulsa (17-14) – American
UNLV (19-12) – Mountain West
UT Arlington (20-10) – Western Athletic
UTEP (21-9) – Conference USA
Valparaiso (18-14) – Missouri Valley
Wyoming (20-9) – Mountain West
   
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