Wednesday, November 19, 2008
YSU will play UIC in its opener Thursday at Cleveland State.
INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has claimed the top seed in the 2008 Horizon League Volleyball Championship for a sixth consecutive season. The winner of the league’s nine-team tournament earns an automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Volleyball Championship.
Milwaukee (20-8 overall, 13-3 Horizon League) has won at least 20 matches in 11 of the past 12 years. The Panthers have posted a 79-10 (.888) conference record since 2003, but own just one tournament title during the six-year stretch.
Valparaiso (23-6, 12-4), which has reached the 20-win mark for a seventh straight campaign, has the No. 2 seed. The Crusaders, who are one of just 19 Division I teams to have at least 20 victories each year from 2002-07, have won 12 consecutive matches and 16 of their last 17.
Wright State (15-15, 10-6), which has improved its league record in each of the past four seasons, is seeded third. The Raiders have won nine of their last 12 matches.
Other seeds are: No. 4 Loyola Chicago (19-10, 8-8), No. 5 Butler (18-10, 8-8), No. 6 Cleveland State (8-18, 7-9), No. 7 Wisconsin-Green Bay (9-17, 5-11), No. 8 Illinois-Chicago (13-17, 5-11) and No. 9 YSU (11-16, 4-12).
The eight-match Horizon League championship will be played at CSU’s Woodling Gymnasium. The four-day event includes a first-round tilt on Thursday, four quarterfinal contests on Friday, two semifinal showdowns on Saturday and the championship on Sunday.
UIC and Youngstown State face off Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. Friday’s schedule features Thursday’s winner against Milwaukee (11:30 a.m.), Loyola vs. Butler (2 p.m.), Valparaiso against Green Bay (5 p.m.) and Wright State vs. Cleveland State (7:30 p.m.).
Saturday’s semifinals are slated for 12:30 and 3 p.m., while Sunday’s championship is set for Noon.
Cleveland State is the defending champion. The Vikings defeated Valparaiso in the 2007 finale at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wis.