With NCAA tournament out of reach, Syracuse looks to new postseason opportunity
After jumping out to a 6-1 conference record, Syracuse was in position to make its first NCAA tournament in program history. Then, it lost two consecutive games in mid-October to both Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech, losing its position near the top of the conference.
Needing to pull off a streak of wins in the latter half of the season to make the tournament, the Orange lost four straight games.
With five losses in its last six road games, any chance Syracuse (17-12, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) had of making the NCAA tournament is nearly gone.
“There is always a chance but we know now there is little chance,” head coach Leonid Yelin said last Wednesday.
While SU’s NCAA tournament dream may be lost, the Orange has a brand-new opportunity for postseason volleyball, thanks to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The NIVC is making a return to collegiate volleyball as a 64-team tournament for programs that fail to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“It might be on a lower scale, but it’s going to be similar to the NCAA tournament,” Yelin said. “The way it looks, it’s going to be good for everyone.”
The event was first introduced in 1989 as a 20-team event, and was in operation for six seasons. Triple Crown Sports is producing this event. The group has extensive experience producing similar events, namely the Women’s National Invitational Tournament for Division I women’s basketball. The WNIT has served as an alternate option for teams who fail to make the NCAA tournament for more than 20 years.
In addition to bringing back the NIVC, Triple Crown also produced the National Invitational Softball Championship this spring. While NCAA tournament games are played at neutral locations, the NIVC will be hosted at individual colleges. The schools will bid for the right to host games.
“The NIVC will keep teams and athletes in the news,” Triple Crown media director Kyle Koso said. “The fan base gets a chance to rally around each team’s hopes for the title.”
Syracuse gains invaluable playoff experience for its young team in this tournament. Except libero Belle Sand, every major SU statistical leader returns next season. Learning how to mentally prepare for tournament could serve as a valuable asset for the Orange.
“Every kind of experience is great experience,” sophomore outside hitter Kendra Lukacs said. “You always grow in chemistry with every game and it would be cool to play teams we don’t usually play in a playoff setting like that.”
The 64-team field will be composed of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 at-large bids. The highest placed finisher from each conference that does not make the NCAA will be invited. Then, the committee will choose 32 teams with an RPI of 140 or better. The Orange is currently tied for sixth in the ACC.
Syracuse currently ranks 131st in RPI with four homes games remaining over the next two weeks. Koso said that an RPI above 140 is the cutoff for the tournament. With a 17-12 record, and four games remaining, the Orange is guaranteed to finish with a winning regular season, another criterion the committee is looking for.
“We have almost everyone back next year,” Yelin said. “None of them have ever been in that playoff scenario and how it’s set up when you get exact practice times.”
Triple Crown Sports and Yelin believe the playoff experience for players and fans is worth the additional cost and work of running a secondary competition.
“Players either get one more shot at ending their careers with a title run,” Koso said, “or they come back next year ready to excel after the lift of preparing and playing in the postseason.”