Volleyball’s History in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus and Volleyball just go together.

The Game is Built Here – Hilliard’s Sports Imports is the leading volleyball equipment provider in the country. Their equipment is used by more than 90% of all NCAA D1 programs.

Talent is Developed Here – The Ohio Valley Region (OVR) is USA Volleyball's largest region with 25,000 members. Covering Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, OVR has more than 190 clubs comprising 2,000 teams and has 500 professional officials in its ranks.

Champions are Crowned Here – Since 2000, Columbus has hosted nearly 20 national volleyball events through with more on the docket in coming years. That long list of events spans all ages and sexes and includes hosting part of seven NCAA tournaments and several USA Volleyball events.

NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship (2021)

It was the second time Columbus hosted the championship and it holds the record for largest crowd in the event’s history

NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship (2021)

Seven teams competed in the championships at the Covelli Center, where Hawaii was crowned the winner.

Ohio Valley Region

USA Volleyball’s Ohio Valley Region hosts tournaments at the Convention Center nearly every year.

USA Volleyball Open National Championships

482 adult teams competed in the championships at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in 2019.

Fast Facts:

Columbus is one of just two cities to host the NCAA Men’s and DI Women’s Volleyball Championships in the same year (2021). The other is Los Angeles, where both championships took place in 1984.
18,755 people attended the final between Nebraska and Wisconsin during the 2021 Women’s DI Championship in Columbus, breaking the championship attendance record.
The Ohio State Women’s Volleyball Team has competed in the NCAA Tournament 24 times. Most recently in 2022, the Buckeyes made it to the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Columbus is set to host the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship again in 2025.

Ohio State Women’s Volleyball Team

The Ohio State Women’s volleyball team continues to rise to national prominence and have 25 NCAA appearances since 1971. The 2022 team made a deep run in the NCAA tournament, falling in the Elite Eight.

Ohio State Men's Volleyball Team

Men’s volleyball has been played at Ohio State since 1968. They’ve won three national championships since 2011 and have 17 Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association conference titles.

Club Teams

Six-Time National Champion Mintonette Sports is one of the marquee clubs in the region and based at Fieldhouse USA at Polaris. Other club teams include Buckeye Volleyball, Rogue Volleyball and Columbus Volleyball Academy, Vanguard and Advancement Academy.