Minneapolis (Dec. 5, 2018) – The best collegiate volleyball players in the country are getting ready to descend on Minneapolis next week as Sports Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, and Target Center welcome the National Collegiate Athletic Association® (NCAA) 2018 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. The four regional winners in the tournament – which could include the Golden Gophers who earned the second seed – will play in semifinal matches at Target Center on Dec. 13 at 6 and 8 p.m. The championship match takes place Dec. 15 at 8 p.m., also at Target Center.

In conjunction with the national semifinals and championship matches, Minneapolis is hosting approximately 2,800 attendees for the annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Convention taking place Dec. 12 through Dec. 16 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Both the AVCA Convention and the NCAA Volleyball Championship are expected to generate an estimated economic impact of more than $11 million in direct spending*.

“This community does a great job of supporting women’s sports and we’re looking forward to showing off our city to the visitors who will be making their way to Minneapolis for the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship,” said Melvin Tennant, Executive Director of Sports Minneapolis and President and CEO of Meet Minneapolis. “By securing this championship event, our hotels, local businesses and residents will benefit economically from the influx of teams, coaches and their supporters who will spend several days experiencing all that Minneapolis has to offer.”

This year will be the first time in 30 years that Minneapolis has hosted the NCAA® Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Tickets for this year’s championship are nearly sold out, reflecting the extremely high level of interest locally and throughout the U.S. In addition to the matches on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15, there are other opportunities for volleyball fans to be a part of the action and excitement including:

• Open practices throughout the day at Target Center – Wednesday, Dec. 12. Practices are scheduled for 10 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:20 p.m. and 2:55 p.m.
• Pep rallies for teams beginning at 4 p.m. at The Pourhouse Downtown – Thursday, Dec. 13
• Under Armour® Girls High School All-America Volleyball match at Target Center – Friday, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $10.
  
  • The 24-best female high school seniors in the nation were selected.
  • Two Minnesota players made this elite group – Izzy Ashburn and Lauren Clark, both of Champlin Park High School.
• Red carpet, team welcome arrivals at 6 p.m. at Target Center – Saturday, Dec. 15

For more information from NCAA Volleyball including the full tournament bracket, go here. To help volleyball fans enjoy Minneapolis, go here for everything you need to make the most out of your NCAA® Volleyball experience.

*Estimated economic impact is based on 11,686 tickets sold to buyers outside of Minnesota using an industry-standard economic impact calculator developed by Destinations International specifically for college championship events.

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ABOUT SPORTS MINNEAPOLIS

Sports Minneapolis is focused on recruiting, enhancing and producing sporting events in the Minneapolis area for the benefit of our community. In addition to generating significant estimated economic impact, amateur and professional sports events can help connect the community through sport, fostering health and wellness.

Minneapolis is on a winning streak with major sports events, and Sports Minneapolis has played a major role in securing many of the recent and upcoming events to the region including: Super Bowl LII in 2018, the X Games (2017-2020), the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game and the 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four. Sports Minneapolis has also been instrumental in locking in other NCAA events, including the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships, 2021 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional and the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four. Other events coming to Minneapolis through the work of Sports Minneapolis include: Northern Lights Junior Volleyball Qualifier, USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships, and USA Taekwondo, as well as many other professional, collegiate and amateur sporting events.

For more information, visit www.sportsminneapolis.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kim Insley, Sports Minneapolis PR and Communications Manager, 612-767-8118, KimI@minneapolis.org
Kathy McCarthy, Sports Minneapolis PR and Communications Director, 612-767-8048, KathyM@minneapolis.org
Michelle Traen Traversie, University of Minnesota Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 612-624-0522, traen001@umn.edu
Sahar Abdur-Rashid, NCAA Assistant Director of Media Coordination and Statistics, 317-917-6547, srashid@ncaa.org

MEDIA CREDENTIALS:

To request media credentials please go to www.ncaa.com/media.
Requests must be submitted by the media agency's sports editor or news director by 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11.

Please Note: If your media outlet plans to cover the championship regardless of the teams that are competing, please submit your credential request as soon as possible. If your media outlet plans to attend only if the team you regularly cover advances to Minneapolis, do not complete the online application until after the field is complete on Dec. 9.