INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – On the eve of its seventh consecutive appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals, the Anderson volleyball team is ranked fourth in the in the third and final Southeast Region rankings of the season, as released by the NCAA, Wednesday afternoon.
The top eight teams remained unchanged from last week's rankings, while UNC Pembroke and USC Aiken flipped in the ninth and 10th spots, with UNCP moving up to ninth.
Wingate (27-2), the preseason favorite to win the South Atlantic Conference Championship, topped the poll for the second straight week and has won three straight outings (all sweeps) after dropping a five-set decision to fourth-ranked Anderson on Oct. 28. The Bulldogs, who are the top seed from the SAC's Piedmont Division, swept Limestone in the SAC quarterfinals and will square off against the No. 3-seeded Trojans, Friday night, in a rematch of last year's SAC semifinal contest that saw AU claim a five-set win over Wingate.
Augusta, the defending Southeast Region Champion, remained second in the poll. The Lady Jags, who are 24-6 overall, are the top seed in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and will host the six-team affair at Christenberry Fieldhouse, beginning on Thursday. Augusta opened the month of November with a four-set loss to Lander, but has still won 15 of its last 17 outings.
Carson-Newman (26-4) remained third and is riding a seven-match win streak into its' SAC semifinal showdown with Mountain Division rival Tusculum, Friday afternoon. The Eagles have won 16 of their last 18 outings and have not lost since dropping a four-set decision at home three weeks ago to defending Southeast Region Champion, Augusta.
Anderson (21-6), which was tabbed fourth in the poll again this week, went on the road and captured a 3-1 win at Mars Hill in Monday night's SAC Quarterfinals and has won 12 of its last 15 decisions en route to its berth in the semifinals. The Trojans are bidding for the program's seventh appearance in nine seasons in the NCAA Southeast Regional.
At No. 5 in the rankings, Lander (20-8) has earned the second seed in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday in Augusta. The Bearcats have won five consecutive matches since dropping back-to-back decisions to AU and Carson-Newman in mid-October.
Flagler (15-9) is the third seed in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and is tabbed sixth in the rankings. The Saints are coming off a five-set home loss to USC Aiken, but have won six of their last eight decisions.
Lenoir-Rhyne (18-9), which was swept at home by Tusculum in their SAC Quarterfinal matchup, but managed to hold onto the seventh spot The Bears were the No. 3 seed in the SAC's Piedmont Division heading into the conference tournament, with their loss to Tusculum snapping a four-match win streak.
Emmanuel (23-7) earned the top seed in the Conference Carolinas' West Division and will face the winner of the Mount Olive/King matchup in their league tournament on Saturday.
USC Aiken (17-12) and UNC Pembroke (19-13) rounded out the 10-team poll.
Eight teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the NCAA Division II tournament. In the Southeast Region, the tournament champions from the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt, and Conference Carolinas will receive an automatic bid, with five more at-large selections.
The rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week by the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections.
Today's ranking is the final weekly poll, with the NCAA D-II Tournament selections scheduled to be unveiled on Sunday night, Nov. 13, at 10:30 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
The Trojans and Bulldogs are slated to get underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
Team (In-Region Only) (Overall Record)
1. Wingate 25-2 26-2
2. Augusta 23-6 24-6
3. Carson-Newman 25-4 25-4
4. Anderson 17-5 20-6
5. Lander 19-8 20-8
6. Flagler 13-8 15-9
7. Lenoir-Rhyne 17-8 18-8
8. Emmanuel 21-3 23-7
9. UNC Pembroke 18-9 19-13
10. USC Aiken 17-12 17-12
