National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 2, 1998

Elimination of third-place match recommended in II volleyball

The Division II Women's Volleyball Committee will recommend the elimination of the third-place match in the Division II championship, beginning this fall.

The committee discussed this and other championships issues during its February 10-13 meeting in Key West, Florida.

The committee noted that the third-place match could be reinstated if the championship is moved back to an on-campus facility.

The 1998 Division II Volleyball Championship will be December 4-6 in Kissimmee, Florida. It will be hosted by the Orlando Area Sports Commission and the Sunshine Conference.

In another action, the committee considered the use of different match formats, but made no changes for the coming year. However, the committee agreed to provide Division II coaches with three different formats for experimentation. It plans to survey coaches on use of those formats.

Substitution rule

The committee also noted that the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAWGS) added an experimental substitution rule and determined that the rule will be used in the 1998 Division II championship. The rule permits a total of 15 team substitutions, with unlimited entries.

In accordance with the rule change, the committee will require line judges to use flags.

Other highlights

Division II Women's Volleyball Committee
February 10-13/Key West, Florida

  • Voted to eliminate the six-minute "shared-hitting" warmup period in the Division II match protocol and agreed to allocate three minutes of that time to each team for separate hitting.

  • Agreed to eliminate the preseason poll, effective in the 1998 season. The first ranking will be released September 16.

  • Voted not to require a championship host to have an auxiliary facility.

  • Noted that a Youth Education through Sports Clinic will be held in conjunction with the 1998 championship.