Pairings Announced For 2009 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament

ROCK HILL, SC - Wingate University, which claimed the volleyball regular season championship by going undefeated in conference play for the third year in a row, is the No. 1 seed in next week's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament, conference officials announced.

The tournament will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. Quarterfinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 13, with the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 14. The championship match will be 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.

The championship match will be webstreamed and available to watch over the Internet.

Wingate (16-0 SAC, 31-1) will face eighth-seed Brevard College (3-13 SAC, 15-14) in the first quarterfinal match at noon on Friday. The Bulldogs are ranked 23rd in the nation in the AVCA coaches poll, and ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Southeast Region poll.

The second quarterfinal match will pair fourth-seed Catawba College (9-7 SAC, 16-10) against fifth-seed and tournament host Tusculum College (8-8 SAC, 18-13) at 2:30 p.m.

Second-seed Carson-Newman College (12-4, 20-8) will face seventh-seed Lenoir-Rhyne University (5-11 SAC, 19-14) at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Lincoln Memorial University (10-6 SAC, 21-8) is the third seed and will face sixth-seed Newberry College (7-9 SAC, 18-14) in the final quarterfinal match on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The winner between Wingate and Brevard winner will face the winner between Catawba and Tusculum on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in one semifinal. The other semifinal will have the winner between Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne meeting the winner between Lincoln Memorial and Newberry at 5 p.m.

The championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Wingate is the three-time defending tournament champion.

The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship tournament.

Friday, November 13
Food Lion SAC Tournament quarterfinals
at Tusculum College, Greeneville, TN
No. 8 Brevard vs. No. 1 Wingate, Noon
No. 5 Tusculum vs. No. 4 Catawba, 2:30 p.m.
No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. No. 2 Carson-Newman, 5 pm
No. 6 Newberry vs. No. 3 Lincoln Memorial, 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 14
Food Lion SAC Tournament semifinals
At Tusculum College, Greeneville, TN
Brevard/Wingate winner vs. Tusculum/Catawba winner, 2:30 p.m.
Carson-Newman/Lenoir-Rhyne winner vs. Lincoln Memorial / Newberry winner, 5 p.m.

Sunday, November 15
Food Lion SAC Tournament championship
At Tusculum College, Greeneville, TN
2 p.m.

Printable bracket (Adobe PDF)