Southland Tournament Begins Friday
11/19/2014 8:57:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Sam Houston volleyball team heads the Natchitoches, La., for the annual Southland Conference Tournament as one of eight teams fighting for the league's automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
The Bearkats are the No. 4 seed and will play host team and No. 5 seed Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening at Prather Gymnasium.
Stephen F. Austin is the No. 1 seed in the event after finishing the regular season undefeated in Southland play with a 16-0 league.
The Jacks tied an all-time program record by earning three-set sweeps in 13 of 16 conference matches this season. SFA will take on No. 8 seed Nicholls (6-10) on Friday in the third match of the day at 4 p.m. CT.
Last year's conference tournament champion Central Arkansas is the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 13-3 league record. The Bears have won both the regular season and tournament titles the past two years. UCA plays the No. 7 seed Southeastern Louisiana (8-8) on Friday, Nov. 21 in the first match of the day at 11 a.m.
Sam Houston and A&M-Corpus Christi tied for third place in the 2014 final regular season standings, both with 11-5 marks. But the Islanders held the tie-breaker over the Bearkats and claim the No. 3 seed. That's the A&M-Corpus Christi program's highest seed in school history. The Islanders will match up against No. 6 seed Houston Baptist (9-7) on Friday in the second match of the day at 1:30 p.m.
Sam Houston is making its 20th overall appearance in the tournament and the Bearkats' seventh consecutive trip to the post-season event. Led by outside hitter Deveney Wells-Gibson, who leads the Southland in kills this year, the Kats posted their first perfect home record at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum since 1984.
The winners of the two semifinal matches Saturday will play for the tournament championship Sunday at 2:05 p.m., with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA championship.
The championship match will be broadcasted exclusively on ESPN3. In addition, all quarterfinal and semifinal matches of the tournament will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, available at Southland.org and on the league's Apple and Android mobile and tablet apps.
Single-day passes for Friday and Saturday, or the championship match Sunday, are available for $10 for adults and $5 for youth. All-tournament passes are $20 for adults and $10 for youth under the age of 18. Children under the age of 3 and students at Southland Conference institutions are free with a valid student ID.
