GEORGIAN COURT TO FACE MERRIMACK IN OPENING ROUND OF NCAA VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL

Courtesy of Chris McKibben, Georgian Court SID

LAKEWOOD, NJ - The CACC-champion Georgian Court University volleyball squad heads to the Nutmeg State of Connecticut this week, where the #4 Lions (31-4) will take on #5 Merrimack College (20-9) in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Division II East Region Volleyball Championship. The Lions and the Lady Warriors will face each other for the second time this season on Thursday at the University of New Haven. The match is scheduled to commence at 5:00 pm.

GCU earned its third consecutive CACC title on Saturday when they defeated Philadelphia University in straight sets. The Lions have won 22 straight matches, while going undefeated against CACC opponents two years in a row (42-0, including postseason).

The Lions played Merrimack back on Sept. 12 in the UMass-Lowell Tournament and defeated the Lady Warriors in a thrilling, five-set affair (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13).  The match was one of only two that went the distance for GCU all season, both of which it won.

The winner of the GCU/Merrimack contest will advance to take on host, #1 New Haven (28-3), Friday evening at 7:30 pm.

The complete tournament schedule is below. 

Thursday, November 20
(Match 1) 12:00 p.m. (3) Bentley vs. (6) Bridgeport Session 1
(Match 2) 2:30 p.m. (2) Dowling vs. (7) Adelphi Session 1
(Match 3) 5:00 p.m. (4) Georgian Court vs. (5) Merrimack Session 2
(Match 4) 7:30 p.m. (1) New Haven vs. (8) Queens (N.Y.) Session 2

Friday, November 21
(Match 5) 5:00 p.m. Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 Session 3
(Match 6) 7:30 p.m. Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4 Session 3

Saturday, November 22
(Match 7) 7:00 p.m. Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6 Session 4

Tickets will be sold in four different sessions. Thursday, November 20 will consist of two sessions. The first session will be the 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal matches. The second session will consist of matches taking place at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two semi-final matches scheduled for Friday, November 21 will make up one session as will the championship match on Saturday, November 22. Ticket prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students/senior citizens and $2 for children under 12 years old. All tickets will be sold at the gate.

Complete ticket information, directions, match schedules, match statistics and match recaps are available at http://www.newhaven.edu/athletics/26216/.