Sunday, November 16, 2008

Valparaiso has earned the second seed for the Horizon League Volleyball Championship, to be contested on the campus of Cleveland State University next weekend.  The Crusaders will take on seventh-seeded Green Bay in quarterfinal action at 4 p.m. CST on Friday afternoon.

Valpo closed the regular season on a 12-match winning streak, the second-longest winning streak in program history, and sits at 23-6 on the season.  The Crusaders finished the Horizon League slate at 12-4, including wins in each of their last nine league matches.  They also won their last 21 sets in league play, sweeping each of their final six Horizon League foes.

Green Bay finished the regular season on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at UIC, snapping a nine-match losing streak.  The Phoenix sit at 9-17 overall on the 2008 campaign and were 5-11 in Horizon League action.  Valpo and Green Bay split their two regular season tilts, as the Phoenix won 3-2 in Green Bay on Sept. 26, while the Crusaders earned a sweep on Oct. 25 at the ARC.

Awaiting the winner of the Valpo-Green Bay winner in the semifinals will be either third-seeded Wright State or sixth-seeded Cleveland State.  On the other side of the bracket are #1 Milwaukee, #4 Loyola, #5 Butler, #8 UIC and #9 Youngstown State.