Courtesy of Delaware State Athletic Media Relations


DOVER, Del., Nov. 28, 2021 -- The Delaware State volleyball team has added another chapter to its historic 2021 season.

The Hornets have been invited to compete in the 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament, marking the first national postseason competition in team history..

Modeled after the NIT and WNIT college basketball tournaments, the NIVC features 32 teams in a single-elimination format designed to reward deserving programs with a separate postseason experience.  

Delaware State will square off against regional host Boston College in the NIVC opening round on Saturday, Dec. 4 in Boston, Mass. The Boston Regional also includes Connecticut of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and North Carolina A&T State, which is in its first season in the Big South Conference after nearly five decades in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

Boston College, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), is 16-16 overall this season.

Connecticut (21-10) and NCAT will meet at 7 p.m. at Boston College.

The winners of the two contests will advance to the NIVC third round, set for Dec. 6-8. The semifinals will fall between Dec. 8-11, with the championship match slated for either Dec. 13 or 14. All matches are held on campus locations.

Delaware State will bring one of the top win-loss records in the nation into the NVIC. The Hornets posted a school-record 26 wins this season (26-4). The Hornets' .867 win percentage is tied for ninth among all NCAA Division I teams as Nov. 28.

Delaware State's 2021 season has also been highlighted by a share of the MEAC regular-season title and an appearance in the conference tournament championship match for the first time since 2010.

The Hornets also set team records for consecutive wins (16), home victories (13-0), shutout wins (20) and regular season non-conference wins (12) during the 2021 campaign.

Delaware State head coach Bruce Atkinson was selected as the 2021 MEAC Coach of the Year, while sophomore middle blocker Alondra Maldonado was an All-MEAC First Team honoree.

"It's a tremendous honor for our program to compete for a national tournament championship," Atkinson, who has a 46-27 overall record in three seasons with the Hornets, said. "Although we fell short of the MEAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth, the NIVC postseason competition is a great reward for our players for the outstanding season they've had. We have so many underclassmen on our team, and the extra matches against major opponents will pay dividends for our program and make us even more attractive to future Delaware State volleyball student-athletes."

Previous NIVC champions are Ole Miss (2017), Iowa State (2018) and Georgia Tech (2019). The event has its roots in the Women's Invitational Volleyball Championship, which was held between 1989-95 before its restart under the guiding hand of Triple Crown Sports, producer of the women's Preseason and Postseason WNIT, the men's and women's Cancun Challenge basketball events, and the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the first NCAA D-I softball event held outside the United States.