INDIANAPOLIS --- The Tusculum College volleyball team is listed ninth in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings.

The Pioneers (16-14, 15-7 in South Atlantic Conference) are one of five SAC teams listed in this week's top-10.

Wingate is the top-ranked team in the region, followed by Armstrong, USC Aiken, GRU Augusta, Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson, Lander, Tusculum and Columbus State.

Tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. There will also be five at-large bids to the NCAA postseason, which begins Nov. 20 at campus sites. The NCAA II Elite Eight will begin Dec. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky.

After starting the year 1-8, Tusculum has posted a 15-6 record ever since, while securing the program's ninth consecutive winning season.

Tusculum will open SAC Tournament play as the fourth-seeded team and will face tournament host and No. 5 seed Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal match at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium in Hickory, North Carolina.

- NCAA -

NCAA II Volleyball Southeast Region Rankings
Rk Team Prv
1 Wingate 2
2 Armstrong 1
3 USC Aiken 5
4 GRU Augusta 4
5 Carson-Newman 9
6 Lenoir-Rhyne 3
7 Anderson 6
8 Lander 8
9 TUSCULUM NR
10 Columbus State NR

2014 Opponents in Italics