Posted: Dec 15, 2016
KENOSHA, Wis. (MCVL.org) - The Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League office has announced it will introduce division alignments for the upcoming 2017 season as recommended by the head coaches. With 14 members ranging from easternmost Cincinnati, Ohio to westernmost St. Louis, Mo., the league will establish a two-division format based on geographical location.
The top-two teams from each division will advance to the 2017 MCVL Tournament, scheduled for April 14-15 at the site of the overall regular season conference champion. For the first time in the history of the MCVL, the winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championships.
The seven schools making up the MCVL East will be Adrian (Adrian, Mich.), Benedictine (Lisle, Ill.), Dominican (River Forest, Ill.), Olivet (Olivet, Mich.), Mount St. Joseph (Cincinnati, Ohio), North Central (Naperville, Ill.) and Wittenberg (Springfield, Ohio). The MCVL West will be made up of Carthage (Kenosha, Wis.), Fontbonne (St. Louis, Mo.), Greenville (Greenville, Ill.), Lakeland (Sheboygan, Wis.), Loras (Dubuque, Iowa), Marian (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and MSOE (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Each school will play its in-division opponents twice both home and away. Additionally, each school will play one contest against an opponent from the opposite division, with location scheduled to alternate each season.
The fourth season of MCVL Volleyball begins on Thursday, Jan. 12, as Benedictine faces Mount St. Vincent in Union, N.J. League play opens on Friday, Jan. 27 and continues through Saturday, April 8.