Despite falling to USF, 3-1, in the final regular season match on Saturday, Cincinnati clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2003 Conference USA Volleyball Tournament (Friday-Monday, Nov. 21-24) in New Orleans. The Bearcats concluded league action with a 12-1 record, sharing the C-USA regular season title with Louisville, who also finished with a 12-1 conference mark.

With wins over USF and UAB last weekend, the Cardinals (20-4, 12-1) garnered the No. 2 seed. Southern Miss (27-5, 11-2) earned the third seed, while Memphis (28-5, 9-4) captured the fourth seed and the final first round bye for the tournament held at Fogelman Arena.

Action gets underway at 1 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 21 as the 10th-seeded TCU Horned Frogs (19-12, 5-8) meet seventh-seeded UAB (14-17, 6-7). The Blazers, who have won five of their last seven matches, will look to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Horned Frogs in regular-season action. The winner of the Houston-TCU match will face No. 2-seed Louisville at 1 p.m., on Saturday. The Cards are aiming for their third Conference USA Tournament title.

Friday’s 3 p.m. match features 11th-seeded DePaul (11-19, 3-10), against sixth-seeded Marquette (12-15, 8-5). Last Friday, Marquette swept DePaul, 3-0, improving its win streak to seven matches. The winner of the DePaul-Marquette match squares off with third-seeded Southern Miss on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagles earned its highest-ever seeding in the C-USA Tourney, while also posting the most wins in school history with 27 victories.

Friday’s evening sessions begins with No. 5 seed and host Tulane (24-6, 9-4) meeting 12th-seeded Saint Louis (9-21, 2-11) at 6 p.m. The Green Wave will look for some home-court magic as they host the C-USA Tournament for the first time. Since falling to then-No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 6, Tulane has not lost a match at home this season. They currently lead C-USA in home wins with a 16-1 record. The winner of the Tulane-Saint Louis match will then play No. 4 seed Memphis at 6 p.m., on Saturday.

The final first round match pits eighth-seeded Houston (10-18, 6-7) and ninth-seeded USF (12-19, 6-7) at 8 p.m. In earlier regular-season action, the Cougars claimed a 3-2 victory over the Bulls, however, USF will look for some winning momentum after defeating Cincinnati on Saturday and snapping the Bearcat’s 14-match winning streak. The winner of the Houston-USF match will face No. 1 seed Cincinnati in Saturday’s 8 p.m. quarterfinals. The Bearcats are after their second league tournament title and have been a semifinalist in seven of the first eight C-USA Tournaments.

Semifinal rounds will be played at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday. The C-USA Television Network will carry the tournament final on Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. (CST). Don Russell will announce the play-by-play with Amy Prichard providing the commentary. Please check your local listings for details.

For live play-by-play, statistics, photos and recaps of each 2003 Conference USA Tournament match, go to the league’s official website, www.conferenceusa.com

C-USA Television
Here is a list of local televisions that will be carrying the game (As of Nov. 3).

Charter Communications– Live
College Sports Television (CSTV), DirecTV Ch. 610 –Live
Comcast Charter Sports Southeast -Live
Cox Sports Television - New Orleans - Live
Fox Sports Net Chicago - Tape Delay on Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. (EST)
Fox Sports Net Florida - Tape Delay on Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. (EST)
Charlotte Cable Television, Ch. 22 – Live
WXIV-TV, Ch. 14 - Greensboro –Live


--www.conferenceusa.com