We are just weeks away from the official bracket for the 2024 NCAA DI women's volleyball tournament, which has its selection show set for 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN.
Following the committee's top 16 ranking reveal on Oct. 20, NCAA's Michella Chester has made in her predictions. It's a yearly tradition, but it never gets easier. Chester projected the 64-team bracket while following the committee’s selection criteria and bracketing principles. It is based on where we are now with a little guess as to how the rest of the season will play out. Chester also chose the 31 automatic qualifiers, with the rest at-large bids.
Here's a quick reminder on how the selection information works, found on :
The Competition Oversight Committee has again approved a bracketing pilot for the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Fifty percent of the bracket will be seeded in four groupings of 1-8. Published seeding will be in four sets of 1-8 and the pairings will honor a 1-8 assignment. The committee will identify the top 32 teams. The top 16 teams will be identified in rank order and assigned a seed grouping from 1 to 4. The balance of the ranked teams, in turn, are assigned to one of the remaining seed groupings (i.e., 5 to 8). Once the seed assignment is finalized, it remains unchanged while placing the teams into the championship bracket. First and second-round conference matchups will be avoided.
Here's how Chester projects the bracket could look based on where she thinks teams will be at the end of the season:
2024 NCAA volleyball bracket predictions
*denotes host institution
| (1) Pitt* vs. Howard | (1) Penn State* vs. UBMC | |
| FGCU vs. (8) Arkansas | Virginia vs. (8) Yale | |
| (5) Auburn vs. Miami (Fla.) | (5) Utah vs. Ole Miss | |
| Mercer vs. (4) TCU* | Colgate vs. (4) Minnesota* | |
| (3) SMU* vs. UT Arlington | (3) Kansas* vs. Lindenwood | |
| Rice vs. (6) Baylor | Missouri vs. (6) Georgia Tech | |
| (7) Marquette vs. NC State | (7) North Carolina vs. Charleston | |
| Chicago State vs. (2) Wisconsin* | Fairfield vs. (2) Texas* | |
| (2) Creighton* vs. South Florida | (2) Stanford* vs. Northern Colorado | |
| Tennessee vs. (7) BYU | UC Davis vs. (7) Washington | |
| (6) Florida vs. Georgia Southern | (6) Dayton vs. UConn | |
| Colorado State vs. (3) Oregon* | High Point vs. (3) Purdue* | |
| (4) Arizona State* vs. Southeastern LA | (4) Kentucky* vs. Western Kentucky | |
| LMU vs. (5) Southern Cal | Wright State vs. (5) Florida State | |
| (8) Texas AM vs. Illinois | (8) South Dakota State vs. UNI | |
| Bowling Green vs. (1) Louisville* | Florida A&M vs. (1) Nebraska* |
Michella Chester's top 16 teams
- Pitt
- Nebraska
- Penn State
- Louisville
- Creighton
- Texas
- Stanford
- Wisconsin
- SMU
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Oregon
- Arizona State
- Minnesota
- Kentucky
- TCU
Of the top-16 teams, Chester has six from the Big Ten (Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Oregon, and Minnesota), four from the ACC (Pitt, Louisville, Stanford, and SMU), three from the Big 12 ( Kansas, Arizona State and TCU), two from the SEC (Texas and Kentucky). Creighton is the lone representative from the Big East.
Five-eight seeds
Five seeds:
- Southern Cal
- Utah
- Florida State
- Dayton
Six seeds:
- Auburn
- Florida
- Baylor
- Georgia Tech
Seven seeds
- BYU
- North Carolina
- Marquette
- Washington
Eight seeds
- Arkansas
- Texas AM
- Yale
- South Dakota State
Projecting the winners of every conference, here are Chester's 31 AQs in the NCAA tournament field. The remaining spots are given at-large bids.
| CONFERENCE | AQ | CURRENT RPI |
|---|---|---|
| America East | UMBC | 156 |
| American | South Florida | 61 |
| ACC | Pittsburgh | 3 |
| ASUN | FGCU | 54 |
| Atlantic 10 | Dayton | 11 |
| Big East | Creighton | 4 |
| Big Sky | Northern Colorado | 71 |
| Big South | High Point | 73 |
| Big Ten | Nebraska | 2 |
| Big 12 | Kansas | 13 |
| Big West | UC Davis | 51 |
| CAA | Charleston | 49 |
| CUSA | Western Kentucky | 126 |
| Horizon League | Wright State | 41 |
| Ivy League | Yale | 34 |
| MAC | Bowling Green | 66 |
| MAAC | Fairfield | 191 |
| MEAC | Howard | 158 |
| Missouri Valley | UNI | 46 |
| Mountain West | Colorado State | 57 |
| NEC | Chicago State | 221 |
| Ohio Valley | Lindenwood | 143 |
| Patriot League | Colgate | 104 |
| SEC | Texas | 7 |
| SoCon | Mercer | 91 |
| Southland | Southeastern LA | 77 |
| Summit League | South Dakota State | 32 |
| SWAC | Florida A&M | 198 |
| Sun Belt | Georgia Southern | 37 |
| WAC | UT Arlington | 62 |
| WCC | LMU | 47 |
At-large bids
To be considered during the at-large process, a team must have a record of .500 or better.
The following criteria shall be employed by a governing sports committee in selecting participants for NCAA championships competition [Bylaw 31.3.3; Criteria for Selection of Participants]:
- Won-lost record
- Strength of schedule
- Eligibility and availability of student-athletes for NCAA championships
In addition to Bylaw 31.3.3, the Women’s Volleyball Committee has received approval from the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee to consider the following criteria in the selection of at-large teams for the volleyball championship (not necessarily in priority order):
Primary Criteria
- Rating Percentage Index
- Head-to-head competition
- Results versus common opponents
- Significant wins and losses
- KPI
Secondary Criteria
If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the criteria listed will be evaluated.
- Late-season performance (last 10 matches)
- Eligibility and availability of student-athletes
- Location of contest
Here's how Chester picked her at-large teams:
*denotes a top-16 seed
- Penn State*
- Louisville*
- Stanford*
- Wisconsin*
- SMU*
- Purdue*
- Oregon*
- ASU*
- Minnesota*
- Kentucky*
- TCU*
- Southern California
- Utah
- FSU
- Auburn
- Florida
- Baylor
- Georgia Tech
- BYU
- North Carolina
- Marquette
- Washington
- Arkansas
- Texas AM
- Illinois
- Miami
- Virginia
- Missouri
- NC State
- Rice
- Ole Miss
- Conneticut
- Tennessee
