Tournaments dot the schedules of volleyball teams from club to college to international competition. Reaching the season-ending championship tournament is the goal of any high school or college squad, but in-season fields provide a meeting point for teams that, due to geography or other conditions, might not otherwise have the chance to play one another. Volleyball tournaments can take on one of four formats.
Round Robin
The round robin tournament is the most common type of in-season tournament used at the college level. Teams in a round-robin tournament play one another once. Won-loss records are compiled and the team with the best record is crowned the winner of the field. San Diego State University's Aztec Volleyball Invitational is one such tournament. SDSU, the University of Cincinnati, California State University-Northridge and University of Northern Colorado faced off against one another in August 2010 over a series of six matches. The host school won the tournament, defeating each school once.
Single Elimination
In single-elimination tournaments, teams must win in order to continue playing. Once a team in this format loses, it is eliminated from play. The National Collegiate Athletic Association uses this format in its Division I women's volleyball championship tournament. National champion Penn State defeated six teams in the field of 64 to win the title.
Double-Elimination
Second chances are the backbone of double-elimination tournaments. Teams that win advance to the next round, while the loser is dropped into a lower bracket. This lower, or loser's bracket, offers teams the opportunity to continue to compete, and the winner of this lower bracket will reenter competition in the quarter- or semi-final round -- depending on the tournament size -- of the regular tournament. Northern Arizona University hosts the annual Fiesta Bowl Tournament at its Flagstaff, Arizona, campus. Losers of matches in the six-team field continue competition in the loser's bracket, often advancing to the championship. In 2010, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore lost in the first round on the tournament but advanced to the championship match.
Olympic-Style Pool Play
Every four years, the Olympics convenes a volleyball tournament that is part round-robin, part-hybrid tournament and typically is known as pool play. Qualifying teams begin in one of two groups, or pools, consisting of six teams each. The top four teams from each group populate an eight-team bracket. The quarterfinal rounds are single-elimination, with the four winners advancing to the double-elimination semifinal. Winners of the semifinal matches play in the gold medal game, while the losers compete for the bronze. In 2008, the Brazil women's team won five matches in its group and each of its tournament match-ups en route to winning the gold medal.
References
- San Diego State Athletics: Volleyball Defeats Northern Colorado & Cincinnati To Capture 2010 Aztec Invitational Championship; August 28, 2010.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association: NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Bracket
- Northern Arizona University: Volleyball Beats Rider, Improves to 2-0 at Fiesta Bowl Tournament
- Northern Arizona University: Volleyball Claims 11th Fiesta Bowl Tournament Title, Choate Wins 300th Career Match
- ESPN: 2008 Summer Olympics Results - Volleyball
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