USC Aiken Advances to NCAA Volleyball Regional

AIKEN, S.C.--The USC Aiken (26-4) volleyball team will travel to Tampa, Fla. this week to participate in the program’s second-straight NCAA Division II Tournament. The Lady Pacers, regular season champions of the Peach Belt Conference with an perfect 10-0 mark, earned a berth in the field of 64 by virtue of their 3-2 win over Lander in the PBC Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon in Greenwood, S.C. USCA, seeded eighth in the eight-team regional, will serve as the lone PBC representative and will take on second-ranked and top-seeded Tampa (28-2) on Thursday, November 15 at 7:30 PM.

Tampa, ranked #2 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, is the defending NCAA Division II National Champions. Running through the South Region to the tune of 21-1 record, the Spartans are making their 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance and are serving as host of the regional for the 15th time. The 2007 Sunshine State Conference champions will be looking to advance to the Elite Eight as region champs for the third-straight season.

USC Aiken and Tampa have met seven previous times with the Spartans winning each one. The last meeting was September 17, 2005 when Tampa won 3-1 in Savannah, Ga.

The Lady Pacers are led by a pair of All-Conference performers in Mandy Gerolstein and Stefanie Durham. Gerolstein, a 6-1 senior middle hitter from Millersville, Md. was selected as the Peach Belt Conference’s 2007 Player of the Year after hitting .407 and averaging 3.74 kills and 0.94 blocks per game. A four-time PBC Player of the Week, Gerolstein ranks in the top 10 in Division II in hitting percentage.

Durham, the September 10 PBC Player of the Week, is the top outside hitter in the conference averaging 3.19 kills, 3.97 digs, and 0.62 service aces per game. In helping the Lady Pacers to the 2007 PBC Tournament, she was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.

Seniors Missy Deardorff, Jasmine Edney, Veronica Seidle, and Amanda Timm are also key cogs in the Lady Pacer machine while sophomore setter Lauren Cedeno directed USC Aiken to a .264 hitting percentage, tops in the PBC and among the top 25 in the country.

USC Aiken’s 26 wins are tied for the third most in the program’s 17-year NCAA era. The four losses are the fewest since the inaugural team went 23-3 in 1978 while the .867 winning percentage is second only to that same season.

The single elimination tournament will take place November 15-17 at the Bob Martinez Sports Center with the winner advancing to the national quarterfinals on November 29 to December 1.

NCAA DIVISION II VOLLEYBALL
SOUTH REGIONAL
NOVEMBER 15-17, 2007 in Tampa, Fla.

Thursday, November 15
Game One: #3 Nova Southeastern (25-9) vs. #6 Wingate (33-1), 12:00 PM
Game Two: #2 Florida Southern (24-8) vs. #7 St. Leo (24-13), 2:30 PM
Game Three: #4 Lynn (21-11) vs. #5 Eckerd (23-10), 5:00 PM
Game Four: #1 Tampa (28-2) vs. #8 USC Aiken (26-4), 7:30 PM