Rice hosts C-USA Volleyball Championship
Owls first face Marshall Nov. 20

BY JAY JAMESON
Special to Rice News

With the success of its volleyball program, Rice University has been tapped to host this weekend’s 2009 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at Tudor Fieldhouse. This is the second time the Owls have played host to the tournament, whose winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

	RICEOWLS.COM

The Rice Owls, ranked fourth in the conference, will face the fifth-ranked Marshall Thundering Herd at 5 p.m. Nov. 20. The winner of that match will play in the semifinals Nov. 21. The highlight of the match will come in a battle of the setters. Rice’s Meredith Schamun, a Jones College junior, enters tournament play first in assists with 11.89 per set followed by Marshall’s Elizabeth Fleming, second in assists with 11.22.

To follow the progress of the Owls, visit http://riceowls.cstv.com.

The C-USA Championship schedule is as follows and can be found online at http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/championships/09-w-volley-championship.html.

Nov. 20 quarterfinals
Match 1 – Tulane vs. SMU, noon
Match 2 – Tulsa vs. UAB, 2 p.m.
Match 3 – Rice vs. Marshall, 5 p.m.
Match 4 – Southern Miss vs. Houston, 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 seminfinals
Match 5 – Winner of Match 1 vs. winner of Match 2, 2 p.m.
Match 6 – Winner of Match 3 vs. winner of Match 4, 4 p.m.

Nov. 22 championship
Match 7 – Winner of Match 5 vs. winner of Match 6, 1 p.m.