The NCAA announced that the final of the 2023 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship has been moved from Saturday night to Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. (Eastern) to accommodate the match being shown on ABC. The semifinal matches will still take place on Thursday, Dec. 14, starting at 7 p.m. at Tampa’s AMALIE Arena.

“This great news represents a big step forward for the championship,” says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. “The additional exposure through having the marquee match of the Division I women’s season on network television is a recognition of the momentum that the sport of volleyball has right now. We are grateful for all the hard work from many leaders throughout our community that has led to this moment.”

The final moving to Sunday comes on the heels of recent successes that women’s volleyball has enjoyed as exposure and interest exposure increases. Last fall, a series of Division I regular-season matches were broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2, and the single-match DI attendance record was set twice in September.

The University of Nebraska has sold out its football stadium for an Aug. 30, 2023, home volleyball match with more than 90,000 fans expected to attend. Additionally, there are three U.S. professional volleyball leagues in the works.

Since the AVCA Convention is held in conjunction with the Division I Women’s Championship, moving the final to Sunday will potentially impact convention-goers. The AVCA is working with the Tampa Sports Commission on the convention schedule regarding activities the city is planning around the championship.

More details will be forthcoming, as the AVCA looks ahead to the launch of convention registration Wednesday, Aug. 9.

Click here to see the official release.