SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The ETSU Buccaneers won the Southern Conference regular-season title and claimed the top seed in the 2022 SoCon Volleyball Championship.
The tournament, which features all nine teams in the conference, begins with a first-round contest Nov. 14, when Furman faces UNCG in Greenville, South Carolina, at 7 p.m. The remainder of the tournament will be held Nov. 18-20, also in Greenville.
ETSU (21-7, 15-1 SoCon) won the SoCon regular-season title for the first time since 2018. As the No. 1 seed, ETSU will face the winner of No. 8 Furman (8-18, 4-12) and No. 9 UNCG (10-19, 4-12) on Friday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. The Buccaneers went 2-0 against both squads during the regular season, winning both matches against the Paladins via sweep and defeating the Spartans in a sweep on Oct. 7 and in four sets on Nov. 5.
Furman won both contests against UNCG during the regular season, earning a win via sweep on Oct. 15 at home and a four-set win on the road on Saturday night.
Samford (16-12, 11-5) was predicted to finish second in the preseason poll and that’s exactly where the Bulldogs finished the regular season. Samford will face No. 7 The Citadel (11-18, 4-12) in the third quarterfinal match. Samford won both matches during the regular season, with a four-set win on the road on Oct. 9 and a sweep at home on Nov. 5.
After being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, Western Carolina climbed up two spots to finish tied for third after regular-season play concluded. The Catamounts (17-11, 10-6) will be the No. 3 seed and take on No. 6 Mercer (10-18, 6-10) in the final match of the day on Friday, set for 7:30 p.m. Western Carolina won both regular-season matches via sweep, on Sept. 24 at home and on Oct. 21 in Macon, Georgia.
Fourth-seeded Chattanooga (16-15, 10-6), who was predicted to finish last in the preseason poll, will clash with Wofford (16-12, 8-8), the No. 5 seed, in the first match on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
The semifinal round of the tournament will be held on Saturday, Nov. 19, with matches scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., before the tournament culminates at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, with the championship match.
The tournament champion will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
2022 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Greenville, South Carolina
Monday, Nov. 14
First Round
Match 1: No. 8 Furman vs. No. 9 UNCG, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Friday, Nov. 18
Quarterfinals
Match 2: No. 4 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 Wofford, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Match 3: No. 1 ETSU vs. Match 1 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 4: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 7 The Citadel, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 5: No. 3 Western Carolina vs. No. 6 Mercer, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Nov. 19
Semifinals
Match 6: Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 7: Match 4 winner vs. Match 5 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, Nov. 20
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)