The single-elimination tournament, which was expanded to eight teams with the addition of an automatic bid for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champion, began with four quarterfinal matches.

[3] In an unprecedented decision, the SIAC was granted a waiver to be allowed an automatic bid despite not meeting the two-year eligibility waiting period requirement.

The SIAC was granted the bid because the conference, consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities, had been fostering growth and diversity in a community and region that has had little representation in men's volleyball.

[4] With Fort Valley State University receiving the automatic bid for the SIAC conference, the school made history as the first HBCU to compete in the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship.

[5] Of note, the quarterfinals featured a sweep in every game, the first such occurrence since the 2013 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, albeit an important difference being that the field was much smaller back then (4 compared to 8).