Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Valparaiso University will battle UMKC on Saturday evening in the semifinals of the 2003 Mid-Continent Conference Volleyball Championships, held at the Athletics-Recreation Center on the Crusaders campus.

Valpo, the top seed and regular season champion, finished the year with a 25-7 record overall and 13-1 in Mid-Con play. The Crusaders need just one victory to tie the school's single-season record for wins.

UMKC earned the fourth seed in the conference tournament after defeating Western Illinois on the final night of the regular season. The Kangaroos enter with an 8-24 mark overall and a 6-8 record in conference play.

The Valparaiso-UMKC semifinal will be the second match of the evening, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The other semifinal will pit second-seeded Oral Roberts (20-12, 12-2 Mid-Con) against number three seed IUPUI (16-14, 9-5). The Golden Eagles and Jaguars will play at 5 p.m.

The two semifinal victors will meet for the championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening in a 7 p.m. contest.