FORT COLLINS, COLO. – The Western Carolina volleyball team was selected to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament Sunday night.
 
The Catamounts will play at Liberty on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va., with the winner of the WCU/Liberty match facing the winner of a match between Toledo and Clemson in the second round on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Liberty, the ASUN Conference regular season champion, will serve as the host for the first and second rounds. Action in rounds 1 and 2 are scheduled for Dec. 1-4, with round 3 scheduled for Dec. 6-8. The semifinals will be held Dec. 8-11, and the championship match will be played Dec. 12 or 13.

For ticket information for the matches in Lynchburg, Va., please CLICK HERE.
 
WCU finished the 2022 regular season with a 17-11 overall record and 10-6 Southern Conference mark to finish in third place in the league. The Catamounts earned wins over ACC members Wake Forest and NC State in nonconference matches. Fifth-year senior Merry Gebel was named the SoCon Player of the Year after she led the Catamounts during the regular season with 340 kills and 3.37 kills per set and also tallied 238 digs for a 2.36 per set mark with 12 double-doubles. Gebel also claimed a spot on the All-Tournament Team after she led the team with 25 kills along with 17 digs and five blocks.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount volleyball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts, @catamountvb), and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountvb).
 
Here is the 32-team field for the 2022 NIVC:
Automatic qualifiers (*- won or had share of regular season conference title):
 
*Alabama State (Southwestern Athletic Conference) -- 20-14
*Binghamton (American East Conference) – 17-8
*Coppin State (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) -- 23-10
Davidson (Atlantic 10 Conference) -- 20-10
Drake (Missouri Valley Conference) -- 26-7
*Houston Christian (Southland Conference) – 23-10
*Liberty (Atlantic Sun Conference) – 23-8
Ohio (Mid-American Conference) – 19-11
Omaha (Summit Conference) -- 20-10
Portland State (Big Sky Conference) -- 18-12
Santa Clara (West Coast Conference) – 12-18
*UT Martin (Ohio Valley Conference) -- 22-11
*UT-Rio Grande Valley (Western Athletic Conference) – 25-6
Xavier (Big East Conference) – 19-11
 
At Large qualifiers:
Boston College (Atlantic Coast Conference) – 19-13
Buffalo (Mid-American Conference) – 19-13
Central Michigan (Mid-American Conference) – 20-11
Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference) – 13-17
Grand Canyon (Western Athletic Conference) – 17-10
Louisiana (Sun Belt Conference) – 15-12
North Dakota State (Summit Conference) – 21-11
Pacific (West Coast Conference) – 16-13
St. John's (Big East Conference) – 19-13
South Dakota State (Summit Conference) – 17-14
Southern Miss (Sun Belt Conference) – 18-11
Toledo (Mid-American Conference) – 18-12
Troy (Sun Belt Conference) – 18-12
Valparaiso (Missouri Valley Conference) – 22-10
Wake Forest (Atlantic Coast Conference) – 16-13
Weber State (Big Sky Conference) – 17-11
Western Carolina (Southern Conference) – 18-12
Wichita State (American Athletic Conference) – 18-12