RSC Volleyball Championship Update

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The River States Conference Administrative Council Executive Committee has approved changes to this year's RSC Volleyball Championship. The championship will remain in the fall 2020, but it will have its start date and completion date pushed back.

The 2020 River States Conference Volleyball Championship will be held Nov. 14, 18 and 21 at campus sites around the conference. The higher seed will host each match beginning with the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 14 and continuing with the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and the championship final on Saturday, Nov. 21.

The championship is pushed back to accommodate as many regular-season makeup matches as possible since the conference regular season has been affected by COVID-19. Makeup matches within conference extend through Nov. 11. The new dates also allow for the volleyball championship to be completed before Thanksgiving break.

"Not all of the regular season matches will be played this season," said RSC Commissioner Michael Schell. "This means that it is impossible for everything to be completely fair. We will strive to do the best we can in determining the right qualifiers and seed the tournament."

The top four teams in the RSC East and West Divisions at the conclusion of the regular season will qualify for the postseason. The bracket will follow a crossover pattern as in past years. The top two teams in each division will host quarterfinal matchups.

The RSC Championship winner will earn automatic qualification to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship in the spring. The RSC regular-season champion and overall No. 1 playoff seed will earn automatic NAIA national qualification before the playoffs. If that team goes on to win the RSC Championship, then the tournament runner up will earn an automatic bid to nationals as well. If the tournament cannot be contested or be contested enough to identify two automatic qualifiers, then the division winners will receive the RSC's automatic qualifications.

For each match of the championship, the host team's spectator policy will be in place. Check the RSC Spectator Travel Advisory for school-specific policies. All matches are scheduled to be video streamed by the host school on the RSC Stretch Internet portal. Cost is $7.95 per individual match or $19.99 for the entire tournament.

Check back at the RSC website for updates to the championship including bracket, schedule and links to live coverage.