PBC Volleyball Tournament to Begin Friday

AIKEN, SC – The Peach Belt Conference will hold its 19th annual volleyball tournament championship starting this Friday, Nov. 13, at the USCA Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C. The 2009 championship will be at eight teams for the first time since 2004 as Montevallo and Flagler appear in their first PBC volleyball tournament. The event will continue until the championship game on Sunday at 2:00.

Flagler is the 2009 PBC regular-season champion in their first season in the conference. The Saints enter the PBC Tournament with a 22-match winning streak, the third-longest winning streak in PBC history behind the 29 in a row one by the 1999 Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates and the 27 consecutive by USC Upstate in 1994. Flagler leads the PBC in assists, kills and aces and are led by senior Katie Beale and junior Meg Weathersby. Beale is ranked in the top 10 in kills and digs while Weathersby has been named the PBC Player of the Week three times and is ranked in the top 10 in kills and aces.

Armstrong Atlantic State is the defending PBC Tournament champions and became the first PBC team ever to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight last year. The Pirates have won 11 of 12 matches heading into the PBC Tournament where they have reached the championship game in nine of the last 10 years. The 2009 team has some of the best young talent in the league with freshmen sisters Kristin and Kathrin Standhardinger. Kathrin Standhardinger leads the PBC in hitting percentage and is seventh in kills while Kristin Standhardinger is second in the PBC in assists. Michele Remlinger is also second in the PBC in hitting percentage. AASU leads the PBC in attack percentage and the lowest opponent attack percentage.

Augusta State has had the biggest turnaround of any PBC team in 2009, winning 22 games in the regular season for the first time since 1995. Senior Jessica Howard leads the PBC in kills and is now third on the PBC’s all-time list with 1,783 in her career. She also leads the league in blocks. Setter Ashley Zappitell has been named the PBC Specialist of the Week twice and is third in the league in assists.

Montevallo is the fourth seed for the PBC Tournament in their first appearance. The Falcons are peaking at the right time, having won five of six heading to Aiken. UM brings experience with four seniors on the front line. Carson Anderson is fourth in the PBC in hitting percentage while Katy Hadrick and Katie Johnson are sixth and seventh in the league in kills, respectively.

The Falcons will face fifth-seeded host USC Aiken in the first round on Friday at 6:00 pm. The Pacers handed Flagler their only league loss of the year at the Convocation Center and are 5-2 in conference home matches this season. USCA brings one of the youngest teams in the conference to the tournament with 12 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Freshman Linday Mortenson leads the team and is ranked 8th in the PBC in hitting percentage while freshman Shannon Byers is ninth in kills.

Lander made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2008 and hope to return this year with the automatic bid that goes to the PBC Tournament winner. The Bearcats are the sixth seed for the tournament and will face Augusta State in the first round. Lander leads the PBC in digs with senior libero Ashley Ferry leading the league and ranked 31st nationally with 4.91 per contest. Junior outside hitter Melissa McCracken was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association national player of the week on Oct. 27, becoming the fifth PBC player ever to earn that award. McCracken is currently second in the league in total kills.

Francis Marion reached the championship game of the 2008 PBC Tournament and are looking for a return trip in 2009. The Patriots have one of the best defensive teams in the PBC, leading the league in blocks. Junior Mallory Eggert and senior Caitlin Simpson are both in the top three in the league and in the top 50 nationally in blocks. Eggert also leads the Patriots in hitting percentage while Ashlyn Underhill leads the team in total kills.

UNC Pembroke pulled off the biggest upset of the 2008 PBC Tournament, beating the three seed as the sixth seed. The Lady Braves will need to conjure that magic once again as they enter the tournament as the eighth seed. UNC Pembroke’s Andrea Laza became the PBC’s all-time leader in digs earlier this month. The senior libero has 2,261 in her career, surpassing the 2,248 by Jessica Strader from 2003-06. Senior Jessica Hartley leads the team and is ranked ninth in the PBC in hitting percentage while Tiara Anderson leads the team in total kills.

The 2009 tournament format has undergone a change as the event has been stretched out to a third day. Instead of the first two rounds of competition on the first day, the four quarterfinal games will be held Friday at 2, 4, 6 and 8 pm with the semifinals on Saturday at 4:00 and 6:00. The championship game will be on Sunday at 2:00. Every tournament game will be carried live over PeachBeltSports.tv with a free audio/video feed and live stats will also be provided for every match. Tournament info including ticket and travel information as well as links to the video and stats can be found at the official tournament website here.