By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Full Schedule | Bracket) In the third and final day of pool play, 12 teams punched their ticket into the championship bracket of the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship, presented by J&L Staffing and Recruiting. Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Park (Mo.), Biola (Calif.), Texas at Brownsville and Missouri Baptist all advanced after posting unbeaten records in pool play.

The 24 programs in the national championship field were divided into six pools with four teams in each pool. The top two teams advance to the championship bracket, which starts on Friday. The first round of bracket play begins at 10 a.m. CST with action on two courts, followed by a pair of matches at 12:30 p.m. Quarterfinals are scheduled for 5:45 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Five of the 12 teams are repeat qualifiers to bracket play from 2013: Biola, Concordia (Calif.), Georgetown (Ky.), Northwestern (Iowa) and Texas at Brownsville.

Pool C proved to be the most dramatic of the six, as College of Idaho, Concordia and Georgetown ended the round robin with 2-1 records. The Tigers fell to College of Idaho, 3-2, today – their second five-set match of pool play. Georgetown advanced as the group champion due to set winning percentage among the tied teams, forcing College of Idaho and Concordia to play a one-set tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker came 45 minutes after the Eagles eliminated Midland (Neb.), 3-1. Concordia rode that momentum to a 25-17 one-set win against the Lady Yotes, sending the program into the elimination round for the 10th-straight time. The tiebreaker match has no impact on season records or statistics for either team.

Defending national champion Texas at Brownsville won its 14th-consecutive pool play match in a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win against Columbia (Mo.). The Ocelots rallied after trailing 2-0 to win the final three sets en route to the victory. Texas at Brownsville’s Anna Siruckova recorded a double-double with 15 blocks and 13 digs, while Tina Sekulic tallied a game-high 52 assists – the fifth highest total at the final site this year.

Texas at Brownsville is looking to become the first program to win back-to-back titles since former-member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) won four-straight from 2007 – 2010.

With the loss, Columbia finishes pool play with a 0-3 record for the first time in program history. The Cougars last failed to reach the elimination round in 2009.

Despite dropping its first set at the national championship, top-ranked Rocky Mountain continued its dominant play, beating Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 3-1. The Battlin’ Bears have won 30-straight matches and are the top-seed in the championship bracket. The Blue Raiders also advanced out of the pool.

Park bounced back from its first dropped set since Oct. 24 with a 3-0 sweep of Grand View (Iowa). The Pirates, who are the only unbeaten team remaining in NAIA volleyball at 37-0, advance into the championship bracket for the first time in program history. Outside hitter Wendy Romero upped her tournament kill total to 50 – fifth-best final site total – with a game-high 12 against the Vikings.

Biola continued its quiet dominance at the national championship with a 3-1 win against Viterbo (Wis.). The Eagles, who claimed the No. 3 seed in the elimination bracket after going unbeaten en route to a Pool D title, have won 19-straight matches. Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year Amy Weststeyn hit .483 with 15 kills against the V-Hawks.

Despite the loss, Viterbo punched its ticket into the championship bracket with a 2-1 record.

The Pool F crown came down to an intense match between Missouri Baptist and Northwestern. The Red Raiders seized the early momentum with an emotional 28-26 set-one win. However, Missouri Baptist swept the next three en route to the group’s No. 1 spot in the elimination bracket. Northwestern will also continue play at the championship as the pool’s No. 2 team.

In addition to Georgetown, two teams pulled upsets in their respective pool and advanced to the elimination round – Eastern Oregon and Vanguard (Calif.). The Mountaineers, who are making their first-ever appearance at the national championship, took second in Pool B after downing Evangel (Mo.) in a tightly contested five-set contest.

Vanguard took runner-up in Pool E with wins against Columbia (3-0) yesterday and Southern Oregon (3-1) today.

For more information on the NAIA Volleyball National Championship, click here.