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HOUSTON – HBU will host the 2021 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament Thursday through Sunday in Sharp Gym. Every match of the tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students ages 6 to high school, while children five and under receive free admission. Current students of any Southland Conference institution will receive free admission with a valid student ID. All pricing is per day and there are no team pass lists for conference championships.
The Huskies (21-7, 12-2 SLC) will be the No. 2 seed and have a bye all the way to the semifinals. HBU will play on Saturday at noon, facing the winner of No. 3 McNeese or the winner of No. 6 Northwestern State and No. 7 Nicholls.
HBU is one of the top defensive teams in the nation statistically, leading the conference and ranking 10
th nationally with 2.74 blocks per set, while also leading the league in digs and ranking 14
th in the nation with 17.28 per set. Junior setter
Ellie Wipf averages 9.84 assists per set, while adding 0.96 kills, 2.26 digs and 0.74 blocks per set. Junior right side
Anna Gadway leads the Huskies and ranks sixth in the conference with 2.93 kills per set, followed by senior outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens and freshman middle blocker
Audrey Pearce at 2.22 per set each and senior middle blockers
Ebonie Ballesteros (2.17) and
Jada Allen (2.11). Ballesteros and Pearce rank first and second in the conference in blocks per set with 1.30 and 1.24, respectively, while Allen ranks fourth with 1.10. Sophomore libero
Kaley Feris ranks third in the league with 4.58 digs per set, with Vivens adding 4.00 per set and freshmen
Alexia Jones and
Tatiana Evans 2.95 and 2.72, respectively. Junior
Marlayna Stapleton is a serving specialist, ranking second on the team behind Gadway (22) with 19 aces.
The Huskies have made the Southland Conference Tournament all nine years under head coach
Trent Herman, since joining the league in 2013. Herman picked up his 200
th career victory this year, matching his record for single-season wins (21), posting the best winning percentage (.750) and conference record (.857) during his tenure at HBU.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (17-9, 13-1) finished one game ahead of HBU in the standings as the two teams split the regular-season meetings. The Islanders will play in the 2:30 semifinal on Saturday against the winner between No. 4 Southeastern or the winner of No. 5 UIW and No. 8 New Orleans.
The action gets underway with Northwestern State (11-18, 5-9) taking on Nicholls (10-16, 3-11) Thursday at noon. The winner will face McNeese (16-10, 9-5) Friday at noon.
UIW (11-17, 6-8) and New Orleans (1-21, 1-13) will play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The winner will face Southeastern (9-17, 7-7) Friday at 2:30 p.m.
The championship match will take place Sunday at 2 p.m., with the winner receiving the Southland's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be held Sunday, Nov. 28, with the first and second rounds taking place Dec. 2-4. The regionals will be held Dec. 9-11, with the national championship slated for Dec. 16-18 in Columbus, Ohio.
Southland Conference Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 18
Match 1: #7 Nicholls vs. #6 Northwestern State – Noon
Match 2: #8 New Orleans vs. #5 UIW – 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 19
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. #3 McNeese – Noon
Match 4: Winner Match 2 vs. #4 Southeastern – 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 20
Match 5: Winner Match 3 at #2 HBU – Noon
Match 6: Winner Match 4 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 21
Championship: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 – 2 p.m.
