NCCAA beckons VBallers to Orlando

SAGU receives at-large bid to Nationals

Three teams from tough Central Region garner invitations

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University women’s volleyball team, fresh off a solid showing at the Central Regional in Kansas, received an at-large bid to play in the NCCAA Nationals in Orlando.

Coach Hank Moore’s Lady Lions, 22-15, lost in straight sets in the finals to Dallas Baptist University (20-15). The nine-team regional tournament was hosted by Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas.

A 10-team field is set for the December 1-3 national championship by the National Christian College Athletic Association. Teams will be divided into two divisions, where pool play will allow for teams to play four matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the single-elimination semi-finals and championship on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The Kissimmee Civic Center will host the venue. Duane Aagaard , the Athletic Director at SAGU sister school, Southeastern University (Lakeland, Fla), will serve as the tournament director and host.

A complete preview of the tournament field will be posted here prior to nationals.

Watch the action live from Central Florida

Fans will have access to view all of the action at no cost. The Video Webcasting will be available via GPSN Online (www.gpsnonline.com). Once established, the links for these contests will be available via the NCCAA website at www.thenccaa.org. All games will be archived for viewing for 24 hours and then will be deleted. Individuals can purchase permanent copies of games.

SAGU has made a number of appearances at national Christian college tournaments, winning several titles in the NBCAA under Coach Moore. They are seeking first in the larger NCCAA. The Lady Lions were the #3 seed in Orlando two years ago.

Southwestern will play the first of their four matches in Pool A on Thursday, Dec. 1. They will face #4 seed Malone University at 10:00am. They will take on Colorado Christian University, the #9 seed, later that day at 4:00pm. CCU and SAGU met in the Central Regional as the #1 and #2 seeds, with the Lady Lions winning, 3-1.

On the virtue of their high ranking, both garnered an at-large invitation to Orlando along with central champion Dallas Baptist University.

The current field includes:

Pool A

#1 California Baptist University (20-10) “Lancers” (Riverside, Cal)
#4 Malone University (29-11) “Pioneers” (Canton, Oh)
#5 Grace College (30-10) “Lancers” (Winona Lake, Ind)
#8 SAGU  (22-15) “Lions” (Waxahachie, Tx)
#9 Colorado Christian University (18-17) “Cougars” (Lakewood, Co)

Pool B

#2 Palm Beach Atlantic University (27-3) “Sailfish” (WPB, Fla)
#3 Trinity Christian College (33-9) “Trolls” (Palos Heights, Ill)
#6 Dallas Baptist University (20-15) “Patriots” (Dallas, Tx)
#7 Asbury University (42-7) “Eagles” (Wilmore, Ky)
#10 Southern Wesleyan University (24-13) “Warriors” (Center, SoCar)

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.