DALLAS – (RV) Rice and No. 18 WKU polished off perfect records in conference play to claim the East and West regular season titles, and will be the No. 1 seeds for the 2020 Conference USA Volleyball Championship, held April 1-3 at Southern Miss’ Wellness/Volleyball Facility. The single-elimination tournament, which was postponed to the spring semester due to COVID-19, features the league’s top eight teams seeded in a cross-divisional format for Thursday’s opening round. All matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Championship Bracket
Championship Central
WKU (18-0, 12-0 C-USA) locked up the East Division title last Sunday and is the tournament’s overall top seed by way of RPI. The Hilltoppers are set to face the West’s No. 4 seed North Texas (11-10, 6-6) in the first match of the week at noon CT Thursday. WKU has dropped just three sets all season, winning 51 of 54 total played, and is the only team to rank in the nation’s top six in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. The Mean Green won five of its last six regular season matches to clinch a spot in the conference tournament for the eighth-consecutive year.
The second quarterfinal is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT Thursday and highlights West No. 2 UTEP (9-6, 8-4) and East No. 3 Marshall (10-4, 8-4). The Miners earned a tournament berth on Friday with a pivotal win over Southern Miss, and took possession of the second seed on Saturday, UTEP's highest seeding in a conference tournament since 1984. The Thundering Herd secured its tournament bid last Sunday, and heads to Hattiesburg with three sweeps in four consecutive victories to conclude the regular season slate.
Thursday’s evening session opens with West titleholder Rice (14-4, 12-0) taking on East No. 4 Middle Tennessee (5-10, 4-8) at 5 p.m. CT. The Owls wrapped up the regular season on Tuesday in stunning fashion, taking down No. 2 Texas in Austin for the second-straight meeting. The win comes on the heels of the team’s first undefeated conference campaign in program history. The Blue Raiders secured the final spot in the East division on Saturday, marking the squad’s second-consecutive tournament appearance following a five-year absence.
The quarterfinals conclude with a 7 p.m. CT meeting between East No. 2 Charlotte (12-4, 9-3) and West No. 3 UAB (8-7, 7-5). The 49ers crafted their winningest season (.750) since 1980 and set a new school record with nine wins in C-USA play. The Blazers’ regular season finale was one to remember as the team secured a C-USA Championship bid for the first time since 2013 with a sweep of UTSA on senior day, its first win against the Roadrunners since 1994.
The two semifinal matches will take place at noon and 2:30 p.m. CT Friday, with the championship set for noon CT Saturday, all to be aired live on ESPN+. Coverage of the event including the tournament bracket, schedule, watch links, team information, results and recaps can be found on conferenceusa.com.
2020 Conference USA Volleyball Championship Schedule
Hattiesburg, MS | Wellness/Volleyball Facility
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, April 1
Match 1: (1E) No. 18 WKU vs. (4W) North Texas – 12 PM, ESPN+
Match 2: (2W) UTEP vs. (3E) Marshall – 2 PM, ESPN+
Match 3: (1W) Rice (RV) vs. (4E) Middle Tennessee – 5 PM, ESPN+
Match 4: (2E) Charlotte vs. (3W) UAB – 7 PM, ESPN+
SEMIFINALS
Friday, April 2
Match 5: Match #1 Winner vs. Match #2 Winner – 12 PM, ESPN+
Match 6: Match #3 Winner vs. Match #4 Winner – 2:30 PM, ESPN+
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, April 3
Match 7: Match #5 Winner vs. Match #6 Winner – 12 PM, ESPN+