Volleyball Set to Face UTEP in Conference USA Championships
November 13, 2006 | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2006
2006 Conference USA Championship Bracket (PDF)
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GREENVILLE, N.C.-- The East Carolina volleyball team heads to Houston, Texas this week for the 2006 Conference USA Championships Nov. 16-19 at the Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston.
The Pirates, who earned a No. 6 seed, will face No. 11 seeded UTEP in the opening round Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m. This marks the second time in as many years that these two squads have faced each other in Championships. The Mines defeated ECU 3-0 in the second round of the tournament last season, ending the Pirates season. UTEP swept the Pirates earlier this season in Greenville, as the Miners lead the all-time series 2-1.
ECU finished the regular season with a 19-11 record, 10-6 in C-USA action. The Pirates ended the year winning nine of their final 11 matches, including a sweep of the No. 3 seed Memphis, who the Pirates would face in the second round should they advance. East Carolina is 1-2 all-time in the Conference USA Championships, with their lone win coming last season in the opening round of the championships with a sweep of Southern Miss.
Top-seeded Tulsa will play the winner of No. 8 SMU and No. 9 Southern Miss in second round action on Friday at 1 p.m.. Marshall (20-10, 12-4), Memphis (25-7, 11-5) and Tulane (15-10, 11-5) round out the top four seeds and will also receive first round byes.
Thursday's action will begin at noon with No. 8 SMU (16-14, 7-9) taking on No. 9 Southern Miss (15-17, 6-10). Game two is scheduled for 3 p.m. as No. 5 UAB (23-9, 10-6) will face No. 12 UCF (5-23, 1-15), followed by No. 7 Houston (17-14, 8-8) battling No. 10 Rice (12-18, 5-11). The final match on Thursday features No. 6 East Carolina (19-11, 10-6) facing No. 11 UTEP (6-24, 2-14).
No. 2 Marshall will face the winner of the Houston/Rice match at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by No. 3 Memphis battling the winner of the East Carolina/UTEP match at 7 p.m. No. 4 Tulane will play at 3 p.m. on Friday against the winner of the UAB/UCF match.
Saturday's semifinals begin at 7 p.m., while the second match is slated for 9 p.m. Sunday's championship begins at 6 p.m. and will be aired LIVE on CSTV.
Complete championship coverage can be found on the women's volleyball page at the league's official website www.ConferenceUSA.com.
