INDIANAPOLIS – As the regular season winds down, the NCAA posted its opening regional rankings Wednesday afternoon for Division II volleyball as Carson-Newman found itself sitting in the field at No. 7 in the Southeast.
The top eight teams make the NCAA Division II Playoffs with an automatic qualifier coming from the South Atlantic Conference, the Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas. The No. 1 team in the region will host the eight teams for three straight days from Dec. 1-3. The winner of the region will advance to the NCAA National Championships from Dec. 7-9 in Pensacola, Fla.
On the year, the Eagles have played eight matches against teams ranked in the top 10 posting a 3-5 record against those schools. C-N has three outings remaining during the regular against three of the top four teams in the rankings.
Friday evening C-N travels to third-seeded Anderson (S.C.) for a 7 p.m. as the Trojans are the top team in the SAC. The Trojans have won 16 consecutive matches with a contest against Livingstone scheduled for this evening.
Wingate holds the top spot in the region rankings with the highest ratings percentage index of .630 and six wins with no defeats against in-region non-conference opponents. The Bulldogs swept the Eagles on Oct. 6.
South Carolina Aiken steps into the second slot in the region. The lone loss for the Pacers since the opening weekend of the season came against Flagler last Friday.
Sliding into the fourth spot in the Southeast Region is Queens (N.C.) as the Royals have the second-highest strength of schedule of any team in the league and highest of the eight-team field. With a .567 tally only Francis Marion's .577 clip is higher.
Above C-N is fifth-seeded Flagler and Georgia College. The Saints have won 12 straight matches. The Bobcats toppled the Eagles in straight sets on Oct. 13.
Ranked below the Eagles are three schools that C-N has defeated this season in Lander, Augusta and Tusculum. C-N swept the Bearcats on their home floor on Oct. 13, won a five-set effort over the Jaguars the next day and split the season series with Tusculum.
Lander and Augusta play each other on Nov. 7 and also have matches against Flagler and USC Aiken to end the regular season prior to the PBC Tournament.
Conference Carolinas does not have a team in the top 10 but will receive a bid from its conference tournament champion and be seeded eighth.
There will be two more regional rankings released before the official selection show will be held after the conference tournaments are settled in the third week of November.
|
Rank |
School |
Record |
|
1 |
Wingate |
20-2 |
|
2 |
USC Aiken |
21-3 |
|
3 |
Anderson |
20-3 |
|
4 |
Queens (N.C.) |
18-5 |
|
5 |
Flagler |
17-3 |
|
6 |
Georgia College |
17-5 |
|
7 |
Carson-Newman |
14-10 |
|
8 |
Lander |
14-8 |
|
9 |
Augusta |
16-11 |
|
10 |
Tusculum |
14-12 |
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