College, Texas Volleyball Journal, UTSA Roadrunners

UTSA, Rice and North Texas set for American Volleyball Championship in Tampa

By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal

The American Conference announced the bracket for the 2025 American Volleyball Championship Monday, with three Texas programs all heading to Tampa for the tournament.

For UTSA, the trip marks a milestone. The Roadrunners (13-14) clinched the eighth and final spot in the field, securing the program’s first-ever appearance in the tournament. UTSA will open the tournament against top-seed Rice on Friday at 10 a.m. CT at The Corral in Tampa, Florida. All games are available on EPSN+. The winner earns the conference’s automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

UTSA’s Ally Tribe gets a kill during a match against Alabama in the 2024 season. (Photo courtesy of UTSA athletics)

Rice enters as regular-season champion

Rice (19-8) secured the No. 1 overall seed after dominating league play and capturing the outright regular-season title. The Owls dropped just one conference match and enter Tampa as one of the tournament favorites. Their opening matchup against UTSA will also be the first match of the championship schedule. Should Rice advance, the Owls would face the winner of Wichita State–North Texas in Saturday’s semifinal.

North Texas earns top-four seed

North Texas (21-8) will make its postseason debut as the No. 4 seed after one of the program’s strongest American seasons. The Mean Green will take on fifth-seeded Wichita State (18-10, 10-6) in Friday’s second match at 12:30 p.m. A North Texas win would set up an all-Texas semifinal if Rice also advances.

South Florida (15-11) will host the event and enters as the No. 2 seed. The Bulls will face No. 7 Charlotte (17-11) in Friday’s third match. The final first-round contest features No. 6 Florida Atlantic (19-10, 10-6) against No. 3 Tulsa (22-6, 12-4) at 6:30 p.m. CT.

2025 American Volleyball Championship

The Corral | Tampa, Florida

First Round – Friday
Game 1: No. 8 UTSA vs. No. 1 Rice, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2: No. 5 Wichita State vs. No. 4 North Texas, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 3: No. 7 Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Florida, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4: No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Tulsa, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Semifinals – Saturday
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Championship – Sunday
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, noon (ESPN+)