FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team looks to compete at the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship on Saturday, April 17. The Owls will face Ottawa University (Kan.) in the opening round.
 
The two teams will face off at 1 p.m. in the Wilson Field House on the campus of Ottawa University. Ottawa is ranked 19^th in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. 
 
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The Owls earned their first-ever trip to Nationals after earning the American Midwest Conference's automatic bid as the regular season champions. The Owls went 9-0 in conference play with an 11-2 overall record prior to postseason. Originally the AMC regular season champion, Missouri Baptist had to forfeit their win over the Owls to drop them to second in the AMC. They went on to grab the AMC's second bid with their AMC Tournament Championship over Columbia College.
 
The NAIA has 48 teams competing at 24 opening round sites on Saturday. After opening rounds, the action inside the Tyson Events Center starts with two days of pool play from April 27-28. The top team in each pool will advance to the elimination bracket on April 29, the semifinals will be played on April 30 and the national champion will be crowned May 1 with the first serve set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.