ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum Pioneers will be the No. 5 seed in this week's South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championship and will travel to fourth-seeded Carson-Newman for a quarterfinal match-up Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse. The match with the arch-rival Eagles is slated for 7 p.m.
Tusculum and Carson-Newman finished tied for fourth place with identical 10-10 conference records. TC and C-N split their two regular season meetings and had identical records against the top-seven seeds. The tiebreaker came with the season results against No. 8 seed Coker as the Eagles went 2-0 against the Cobras while the Pioneers went 1-1.
Each team was victorious on the road in this year's first encounters. Carson-Newman spoiled Tusculum's home opener with a 3-1 win at Pioneer Arena on Sep. 8. TC responded 18 days later with a 3-2 win over the Eagles at Holt Fieldhouse on Sep. 26.
This will mark the third time Tusculum and Carson-Newman have met in the SAC Championship. C-N recorded back-to-back quarterfinal wins over the Pioneers in 2006 and 2007.
Tusculum has qualified for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in 18 of its 19 seasons as a league member.
The winner of the SAC Championship will earn the league's automatic berth to next week's NCAA Division II Tournament.
2017 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championship
Tuesday, November 14 | Quarterfinal
No. 8 Coker at No. 1 Anderson, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Tusculum at No. 4 Carson-Newman, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Lincoln Memorial at No. 2 Wingate, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Mars Hill at No. 3 Queens, 7 p.m.
Friday, November 17 | Semifinal | Jefferson City, Tenn.
Anderson/Coker winner vs Tusculum/Carson-Newman winner, 4 p.m.
Wingate/LMU winner vs Queens/Mars Hill winner, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 18 | Jefferson City, Tenn.
Championship Match, 2 p.m.