NEW ORLEANS, La. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team will open up play at the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Thursday at Noon (ET) when the eighth-seeded Jags take on top-seeded and tournament host Florida International at FIU Arena.
The tournament appearance will mark the first time the Jaguars have advanced to the league’s postseason tourney since the 2001 season.
USA (11-14, 5-12 SBC) captured the final spot in this year’s tournament after North Texas, Louisiana-Lafayette and Florida Atlantic all lost this past weekend. South Alabama and FAU each had identical 5-12 league records, but the Jags gained the spot due to the second league tiebreaker. In the two head-to-head matches, USA won five of the eight sets between the two clubs, therefore gaining the final spot in the tournament.
Florida International ended the season with a 26-5 record and captured the East Division title with a 15-2 conference mark on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of FAU.
USA and FIU have faced each other in the SBC tournament on one other occasion. The Golden Panthers defeated the Jags 3-1 back during the 1999 tournament held in Bowling Green, Ky.
In other tournament action, the winner of the USA/FIU match will take on either fourth-seeded New Orleans or fifth-seeded UALR. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Middle Tennessee will take on No. 7 Arkansas State and No. 3 Denver will face No. 6 Western Kentucky. The Blue Raiders are the defending tournament champion and have taken home the league crown the past two seasons.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds:
1. Florida International (15-2, .882)
2. Middle Tennessee (14-3, .824)
3. Denver (14-4, .778)
4. New Orleans (13-5, .722)*
5. UALR (13-5, .722)*
6. WKU (12-5, .706)
7. Arkansas State (10-8, .556)
8. South Alabama (5-12, .294)**
* New Orleans and UALR have identical 13-5 records with winning percentages of .722. In the event of a tie, the head-to-head results are used as the first tie-breaker. The two teams split in their regular season matches and remain tied. The next tiebreaker used is sets won during the regular season head-to-head matches; New Orleans holds a 5-3 advantage over UALR in sets won and is therefore seeded higher than UALR.
** Florida Atlantic and South Alabama have identical 5-12 records with winning percentages of .294. In the event of a tie, the head-to-head results are used as the first tie-breaker. The two teams split in their regular season matches and remain tied. The next tiebreaker used is sets won during the regular season head-to-head matches; South Alabama holds a 5-3 advantage over Florida Atlantic in sets won and is therefore the eighth and final seed for the conference tournament.
Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Schedule:
Thursday, November 20
12:00 p.m. - Game 1 ? No. 1 FIU vs. No. 8 South Alabama
2:30 p.m. - Game 2 ? No. 4 New Orleans vs. No. 5 UALR
5:00 p.m. - Game 3 ? No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 7 Arkansas State
7:30 p.m. - Game 4 ? No. 3 Denver vs. No. 6 WKU
Friday, November 21
5:00 p.m. - Game 5 ? G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner
7:30 p.m. - Game 6 ? G3 Winner vs. G4 Winner
Saturday, November 22
3:00 p.m. - Championship Match (Sun Belt Regional Television Broadcast)
All times Eastern and subject to change
-- USA --
