ST. PAUL, Minn.---During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) has explored numerous creative options to provide student-athletes with an opportunity to still compete in a safe environment. That will continue to shine through when the conference embraces volleyball competition this spring.
The 2021 UMAC spring volleyball season is set to begin Saturday, March 6 and will pack a punch with all nine conference teams competing in an eight-game single round robin schedule format in just over four-weeks’ time before engaging in a unique nine-team tournament format beginning April 5.
With each team only play each other once during the season, each game will count more than ever before. In 2019, the conference saw three teams share the regular season conference title after an eight game schedule.
The University of Northwestern earned a share of its ninth-straight UMAC championship and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The University of Minnesota Morris picked up a share of its first title since 2013, while the College of St. Scholastica earned a share for the first time since 2011. The Cougars earned the No. 2 spot in the tourney followed by the Saints at the No. 3 seed.
For the seventh season in a row, the Eagles and Cougars advanced to the UMAC title game with Northwestern emerging victorious to avenge a 2018 tournament championship loss to Minnesota Morris. The Eagles went on to defeat St. Olaf College in the 2019 NCAA Championship opening round which marked the sixth-straight season a UMAC team won an opening-round NCAA tournament match in volleyball.
The Eagles, Cougars and Saints each finished 7-1 in conference play and recorded at least 16 or more overall wins. The conference tournament field rounded out with the University of Wisconsin-Superior in fourth (5-3) and Bethany Lutheran College fifth (4-4). Martin Luther College and Northland College finished tied for sixth, while Crown College and North Central University were tied for eighth.
Most UMAC teams will be participating in official competition for the first time in nearly 16 months with the conference 2020 season suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With such a long period of time between competitive seasons, all conference teams could look significantly different than when the 2019 season ended, meaning the conference title will be up for grabs for any number of UMAC teams.
UMAC regular season competition begins Saturday, March 6. Matches are regularly scheduled for Thursdays and Saturdays unless changes have been agreed on by both programs. Spectators will be allowed at the discretion of each institution with all institutional policies listed on our UMAC Institutional Spectator Policies Page.
The conference tournament will take place Monday, April 5 through Saturday, April 10. Below is the tournament schedule:
- Monday, April 5 - No. 9 Seed at No. 8 Seed
- Thursday, April 8 - No. 4 seed at No. 1 seed, No. 3 seed at No. 2 seed
- Thursday, April 8 - No. 8/9 Winner at No. 5 seed, No. 7 seed at No. 6 seed
- Saturday, April 10 - Championship game (No. 1/4 winner vs. No. 2/3 winner)
- Saturday, April 10 - Third Place game (No. 1/4 loser vs. No. 2/3 loser)
- Saturday, April 10 - Consolation Championship game (No. 5/8/9 winner vs. No. 7/8 winner)
- Saturday, April 10 - Seventh Place game (No. 5/8/9 loser vs. No. 7/8 loser)