Centre Pulls Shocker; Colorado, DePauw and Trinity also advance to SCAC Volleyball Semifinals

Centre Pulls Shocker; Colorado, DePauw and Trinity also advance to SCAC Volleyball Semifinals

(Story provided by James Hill, Trinity University)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas
- The seventh-seeded Centre College Colonels upset the defending champion Southwestern University Pirates Friday night in the quarterfinals of the SCAC Volleyball Championship Tournament in Trinity University's Sams Gym. Official Tournament Website | Updated Bracket

Centre edged the No. 2 Pirates, ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III, 15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 28-30, 15-9 in a thriller.

The Colonels will take on No. 3 DePauw at 1:30 p.m. CDT in Saturday's semifinals. DePauw blanked No. 6 Rhodes 25-21, 25-17, 25-21 on the opening day of the 11-team tournament.

Top seed Colorado College, ranked 10th nationally, shut out No. 8 Millsaps 25-20, 25-19, 25-19. It will be the battle of the Tigers in the 11:15 a.m. semifinal, between Colorado College and fourth-seeded Trinity. The host Tigers from Texas, who received votes in the national poll, won a tight match of their own, beating fifth-seeded Austin College 25-17, 28-26, 12-25, 24-26, 15-13.

The third-place match is slated for 6 p.m., and the championship tilt will be played at 8:15 p.m. The SCAC champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

In earlier action Friday, Millsaps defeated No. 9 Hendrix 25-21, 26-24, 25-21. Rhodes was a 25-22, 25-20, 25-7 winner over No. 11 Sewanee, and Centre upended No. 10 Oglethorpe 25-22, 25-18, 25-11.

Prior to the last match of the night, 37 seniors from the SCAC teams were honored in a special ceremony.

Following seniors recognition, the All-SCAC Teams were announced, followed by the players of the year, and coach of the year announcements. Click here for the 2010 All-SCAC Volleyball release.

Saturday's consolation action starts at 9 a.m.with Austin College and Millsaps (Sams Gym), and Sewanee meets Oglethorpe, in Webster Gym. Hendrix plays for ninth place, at 1;30 p.m. in Webster, against the Sewanee/Oglethorpe winner.

The 3:45 p.m. match in Sams is for fifth place, and will pit the Austin College/Millsaps winners against the Rhodes/Southwestern winners. The losers play at 3:45 p.m., in Webster, for seventh place.

For complete information regarding the 2010 SCAC Volleyball Championship, including live stats and live video, click here for the official championships website.