SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Furman claimed the top seed in the 2014 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship. The tournament begins Saturday, Nov. 22 at Fleming Gym on the campus of UNCG.

The Paladins (21-6, 14-2) finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak to clinch its first regular season title since 2009 when they won the South division. Furman will face the winner of No. 8 seed Wofford (12-21, 4-12) and No. 9 seed The Citadel (8-25, 0-16), who will play the opening game of the tournament on Saturday morning.

Samford (17-12, 11-5) earned the No. 2 seed, followed by UNCG (19-10, 11-5) as the No. 3 seed and ETSU (17-15,11-5) as the No. 4 seed. All three teams finished the regular season tied with the same conference record and were seeded based on tiebreaker procedure.

ETSU will go head-to-head with No. 5 seeded Western Carolina (16-14, 9-7) in the second match of the day. The two split in their regular season series with both matches going to five sets. ETSU enters postseason play as one of the hottest teams in the league with a six-game winning streak

Samford will face off against the No. 7 seed Chattanooga (13-18, 6-10) in the fourth game of the opening round. Both teams struggled down the stretch but each won a match on the final weekend of play.

Tournament host UNCG will meet Mercer (11-19, 6-10), who earned the No. 6 seed, in the 7:30 p.m. match of the opening day. The Spartans enter play having won four straight and hold a 9-3 record at home this season.

The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championships.

2014 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Fleming Gym - Greensboro, N.C.

November 22 (Saturday)
Quarterfinals
Match 1: #8 Wofford vs. #9 The Citadel, 9:30 a.m.
Match 2: #4 ETSU vs. #5 Western Carolina, Noon
Match 3: #1 Furman vs. Match 1 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Match 4: #2 Samford vs. #7 Chattanooga, 5:00 p.m.
Match 5: #3 UNCG vs. #6 Mercer, 7:30 p.m.

November 23 (Sunday)
Semifinals
Match 6: Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner, 2:00 p.m.
Match 7: Match 4 winner vs. Match 5 winner, 4:30 p.m.

November 24 (Monday)
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN3)

ALL TIMES EASTERN