Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team will open play in the 2013 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament Thursday in Richardson, as the Cru's makes its third consecutive ASC Tournament appearance for the first time in program history. UMHB earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after posting a 15-3 conference record (28-5 overall). The tournament will run Thursday, Nov. 7th – Saturday, Nov. 9th on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas.
UMHB earned a first-round bye and will open the tournament with a 5 p.m. second-round match against the winner of No. 3 East Texas Baptist and No. 6 Concordia (Thursday, 12 p.m.). The other first-round match will pit No. 4 Hardin-Simmons against No. 5 Texas-Tyler Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The winner of that match will face tournament host and No. 1 Texas-Dallas. The ASC Tournament championship match will be played at 3 p.m. on Saturday with an "if necessary" match to follow. The conference tournament champion will receive the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Championships.
"We are excited about the opportunity to play in the conference tournament again," Cru head coach
Rob Frost said. "We have a young team but they are experienced and have improved a lot throughout the season. We expect great competition and intensity throughout the tournament, but I believe we are peaking at the right time and expect to play our best volleyball of the season."
UMHB enters the tournament with five sophomore returners from last year's ASC Tournament qualifier. The Cru roster also features a junior transfer and six freshmen. Outside hitter
Lauren Powell (So., The Woodlands) was a First Team All-ASC selection and leads the Cru with 321 kills for a 2.7 kills per set average. Outsider hitter
Kendall Pye (So., College Station) earned Second Team All-ASC for her versatile role; she has 200 kills and 467 assists on the season. Middle blocker
Cheyenne Dowdey (So., Hallettsville) also earned Second Team honors and leads the Cru with a school-record 165 blocks this season. Setter
Shelby Prather (So., Leander) was a Third Team All-ASC selection with a team-best 753 assists and 40 service aces. Libero
Kendra Feldmann (So., Arvada, Colo.) tops the Cru with 623 digs, but four other players have 275 digs or more this season.
The Cru is 2-0 against Concordia and Texas-Tyler this season and 1-1 against the other teams in the tournament field. Three of UMHB's five losses on the season have come against teams ranked in the top seven in the South Region of the NCAA Regional Rankings.
The Cru is under the direction of third-year head coach
Rob Frost. The team has posted three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since the program moved to NCAA Division III play. UMHB volleyball is making its third consecutive ASC Tournament appearance for the first time in program history. You can follow the ASC Volleyball Tournament through live video and live statistics at the following link:
http://cometsports.utdallas.edu/sports/2013/11/1/VBALL_1101133630.aspx
Tickets for the ASC Volleyball Championship Tournament are $7 for adults, $5 for college students and $3 for students ages 6-18. Official tournament long-sleeved t-shirts are $15. UMHB's last ASC Volleyball Championship came in 1998 when the Cru won the inaugural league tournament.
