Nov. 12, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA is set to host its annual volleyball championship this week in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall University will be the host of the four-day event starting Thursday, Nov. 15 at Noon and concluding Sunday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. with the championship match.

All 12 members will be vying for the league's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Championship.

UAB became the second program in league history to win four matches in four days to claim the 2006 tournament title. The then-fifth-seed Blazers capped off their tournament run by upsetting then No. 3 Memphis in five games.

Marshall, 2007 C-USA regular season champion, Tulane, UAB and Tulsa enters the tournament as the top four seeds, respectively, and received first-round byes.

The Herd, who's on a nine-match winning streak and winners of 16 of the last 17 matches, picked up its second regular season title outright in three years with a 3-0 victory of Memphis Sunday. Marshall's 15-1 league record is identical to when the program won the 2005 regular season and tournament titles.

C-USA VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK & STATISTICS

2007 C-USA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Nov. 15
(10) UTEP vs. (7) Rice - 12 p.m.
(11) Southern Miss vs. (6) Houston - 2 p.m.
(9) SMU vs. (8) East Carolina - 5 p.m.
(12) UCF vs. (5) Memphis - 7 p.m.

QUARTERFINAL
Friday, Nov. 16
winner of Match 1 vs. (2) Tulane - 12 p.m.
winner of Match 2 vs. (3) UAB - 2 p.m.
winner of Match 3 vs. (1) Marshall - 5 p.m.
winner of Match 4 vs. (4) Tulsa - 7 p.m.

SEMIFINALS
Saturday, Nov. 17
winner of Match 5 vs. winner Match 6 - 4 p.m.
winner of Match 7 vs. winner Match 8 - 6 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, Nov. 18
Semifinal winners - 6 p.m.

TV COVERAGE
Sunday's championship match will be nationally televised live by CSTV at 6 p.m. ET.

RADIO COVERAGE
For the first time in C-USA history, all 11 matches will be broadcasted. WMUL will provide complete radio coverage at 88.1 FM in Huntington, W.Va., and on-line at http://www.marshall.edu/wmul/live.asx.

LIVE ONLINE STREAMING
Per-Match: $6.95 ... Championship Match: $7.95

GAME TRACKER
C-USA Volleyball fans can also watch their favorite team FREE via GameTracker located on C-USA Volleyball Championship page. For the most up-to-date C-USA Volleyball Championship Information please visit the league's official website at ConferenceUSA.com.

C-USA VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Stephanie Cahill, Marshall
5-10, Sr., OH, Louisville, Ky. (Presentation Academy)
Cahill led Marshall to its second C-USA regular season title in three years with a pair of 3-0 victories at UAB and at Memphis last weekend. She recorded a match-high 20 kills Friday against UAB, and 19 Sunday against Memphis, to give her a total of 39 for two matches and a 6.5 KPG average. Cahill also averaged 2.83 DPG as well as recorded her 18th double-double of the season with 20 kills and 13 digs versus the Blazers. Cahill hit .545 and .467 against UAB and Memphis, respectively. This is Cahill's second C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honor this season.

SETTER OF THE WEEK
Elizabeth Fleming, Marshall
5-10, Fr., S, South Bend, Ind. (Adams)
Fleming quarterbacked Marshall to its second C-USA regular season title in three years with a pair of 3-0 victories at UAB and at Memphis last weekend. Fleming notched match-high assists against UAB with 56, and 45 against Memphis and guided the Herd to a .390 hitting percentage. Fleming averaged a solid 16.83 assists per game, and contributed her seventh double-double of the season, as she tallied 11 digs in Friday night's win against the Blazers. Fleming leads the league with 13.19 APG average. This is Fleming's fourth career C-USA Setter of the Week recognition.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tracey Lam, RICE
5-6, Fr., DS, San Francisco, Calif. (Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep)
Lam averaged 7.50 digs per game and brought her season tally to 465, the second best single-season total at Rice. Lam was one dig away from the Rice record (set in 1989) Friday when she recorded 35 in a five-game loss to Tulsa. The next night she was even better when she dug up 25 balls in a three games win over SMU, an average of 8.33 DPG. Also against Tulsa, she matched her career-best for assists with three and doubled her career kill total with two. Lam ties SMU's Candice Davis for fourth on the C-USA match list for most digs against a conference opponent. That figure also ranks ninth for all matches. This is Lam's second career C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honor.

TEAM CAPSULES

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (15-16, 6-10 C-USA) fell in three games to UAB Sunday. Sophomore Peyton Thompson led the offense, putting down 13 kills on 20 attempts with two errors to hit a scorching .550. No. 8 seed ECU will face No. 9 seed SMU at 5 p.m. on Thursday. ECU defeated SMU in a five-game thriller earlier this season in Minges Coliseum. The winner advances to play the top-seed and host Marshall in the quarterfinals.

HOUSTON
Houston (13-14, 8-8 C-USA) split a pair of five-game thrillers over the weekend. The Cougars lost to SMU Friday, but bounced back to defeat Tulsa, 3-2, Sunday. Houston was led by junior Justine Farmer's 28 kills and 23 digs, for her 18th double-double of the season. Freshman Amanda Carson had a career-best 35 digs, which ranks tied for fourth on C-USA's single-match best list for league games. No. 6 seed Houston will face No. 11 seed Southern Miss on Thursday at 2 p.m.

MARSHALL
Senior OH Stephanie Cahill tallied a match-high 19 kills to help lift Marshall (22-8, 15-1 C-USA) to a 3-0 sweep over Memphis Sunday afternoon, giving the Herd its second C-USA regular season title in three years and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The team concludes its regular season on a nine-match winning streaked, has now won 16 of its last 17. Marshall's first tournament opponent will be the winner of the East Carolina/SMU match at 5 p.m. on Friday.

MEMPHIS
With an 11-5 finish in C-USA regular season action, Memphis (22-11, 11-5 C-USA) earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming C-USA Championship. The Tigers, who just missed a fourth-place finish and first-round bye, will wrap up day one of the tournament on Thursday with a third battle against UCF at 7 p.m. EST. Memphis dropped the regular season finale to Marshall. The Tigers are winners of nine of its last 12 conference matches. A UofM victory in the opening round would set up a second-round battle with No. 4 Tulsa at 7 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 16.

RICE
In the final home match of the season, Rice (12-16, 7-9 C-USA) swept SMU. The Owls set up another balanced attack as sophomore Natalie Bogan and junior Karyn Morgan had 12 kills each and sophomore Jessie Boulavsky added 11. Defensively, freshman Tracey Lam led the match with 25 digs to bring her two-day total to 60, and average of 7.50 digs per game. Rice, the seventh seed, will face UTEP in Thursday's opening round of the 2007 C-USA Volleyball Championship.

SMU
SMU (16-14, 6-10 C-USA) closed out its regular season Saturday, falling to Rice, 3-0. Caitlin Rainbird led the Mustangs in kills, notching 12, while Kathryn Wilkerson and Natalie Peters recorded nine each. On defense, Candice Davis recorded 21 digs, while Kendra Kahanek registered one block solo and four block assists. The Mustangs first-round opponent in the 2007 C-USA Championship will be No. 8 seed East Carolina at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss (12-20, 3-13 C-USA) closed out its regular season with a 3-0 sweep of UCF. Southern Miss was led by senior Amanda Huntoon with 12 kills, while Angela Hlavaty added 11. Kristen Metz tallied a career-best seven blocks, while recording 12 assists. Katie Matlock finished the match with six aces and 23 assists. Senior Morgan Johnson added six blocks. No. 11 seed Southern Miss will face No. 6 Houston in the first round of the C-USA Championship Thursday at 2 p.m.

TULANE
Tulane (26-5, 14-2 C-USA) will be the No. 2 seed in the C-USA Volleyball Championship. Tulane will play Friday at 11 a.m. CT, against either No. 7 seeded Rice or 10th-seeded UTEP. The Green Wave finished second in the regular season, one game back of regular season champion Marshall, despite riding a nine-match win streak following Friday's win over UTEP. The Green Wave, which completed their C-USA slate Friday with a win over UTEP, was watching the scoreboard in hopes of a Memphis win over Marshall, which would have given Tulane a share of the regular season title.

TULSA
Tulsa (24-8, 11-5 C-USA) played a pair of five-game thrillers over the weekend, going 1-1. TU defeated Rice Friday, before falling to Houston Sunday to close regular season play. Senior S Julia Silva produced her eighth and ninth triple-doubles of season, also pushing her season total to 28 DD. The fourth-seeded Golden Hurricane earned a first-round bye in this week's C-USA Championship and will face the winner of the UCF/Memphis match in Friday's quarterfinals at 7 p.m. ET

UAB
UAB (22-8, 12-4 C-USA) clinched a No. 3 seed in this week's C-USA Championship by beating East Carolina, 3-0 Sunday. Leading the Blazers was junior Casey Dent, who finished with 16 kills on .483 hitting to go along with six digs and two blocks. Senior Fernanda Domingos had 12 kills and six blocks in her final match inside Bartow Arena. With a first round-bye, the Blazers will have to wait for their first opponent on Friday at 2 p.m. ET UAB, defending tournament champions, will face the winner of Houston/Southern Miss.

UCF
Junior Stephanie Serna recorded a match-high 16 kills, despite UCF (9-22, 0-16 C-USA) falling to Southern Miss, 3-0, Sunday. Freshman Blaire Brueggemeyer had 34 assists and two service aces against the Golden Eagles. Defensively, Erin Campbell had a team-best 13 digs, followed by senior Cassie Ramaekers nine. UCF, a 12th-seed, will play the nightcap game of the opening day of the C-USA Championship against No. 5 seed Memphis at 7 p.m. ET.

UTEP
UTEP (9-19, 3-13 C-USA) will take on Rice to open the 2007 Conference USA Volleyball Championships. The two teams will go head-to-head on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. EST. UTEP enters the tournament as the 10th seed, while Rice is the seventh seed. The Miners are looking to avenge two consecutive losses to the Owls, as Rice swept UTEP, 3-0, in both 2007 contests. The winner of UTEP's match will move on to play Tulane in Friday's quarterfinal