With a conference filled with good teams, the Conference USA women’s volleyball tournament should prove to be exciting. Cincinnati, Louisville, Houston, DePaul and Saint Louis are the top five seeds, respectively. Each team has shown that they can beat any team on any given day.
The BIllikens will face some tough competition as they make their way to the C-USA tournament championship.
Cincinnati, Louisville, Houston and DePaul hold down the top four seeds respectively. The Billikens were just one and five against the top seeds and are looking for redemption.
In order to reach the top seeds, the Bills must first make it past a struggling UAB team. The Blazers were a dismal 2-14 against C-USA opponents and their overall record was 9-20.
The Billikens have been shaky under pressure.
They needed two wins against Louisville and Cincinnati to be in contention for a share of the regular season crown and couldn’t do it.
They needed two wins this past weekend to secure a first round bye and could only get one.
The Bills are a young team with only one senio
If the Bills move on to the second round, they would face the DePaul Blue Demons for the third time this year.
DePaul has been on a tear since beating the Billikens back in October; they have gone 12-3. The Blue Demons are led by Stephanie Bishop who has compiled a team- leading 556 kills, 524 digs and 17 aces.
Kara Jakusz was DePaul’s leading setter with 1,517 assists.
DePaul has been hot at the right time.
They come into the tournament on a tear and look to continue their winning ways. They’ll give any team trouble with their scrappy play.
The top-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats are led by freshman Bonita Wise.
Wise had 366 kills and 99 blocks for the year.
The Bearcats were dominating this past year as they shredded the C-USA competition, finishing 13-3.
They’ll have tough competition with the second round winner of DePaul and SLU/UAB.
Cincinnati should end up in the finals, and if they don’t, they should expect an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.
The Louisville Cardinals secured the second seed by playing well in C-USA.
The Cardinals went 12-0 at one point during conference play. They finished at 13-3 in conference and 16-10 overall.
Louisville is led by setter Jing Ding. She won her appeal for eligibility and joined her team here in Saint Louis.
The Cardinals team chemistry was immediately boosted as they went 13-2 since Ding’s return.
Louisville has been hot since the return of their setter.
The Cardinals would have taken the top spot in C-USA if not for an early season loss at Cincinnati.
Anything less than a tournament championship will be disappointing.
Houston was atop the C-USA rankings until the final weekend of conference play. The Cougars ventured into Cincinnati and Louisville needing only one win to secure the top spot for the tournament, but the Cougars were swept in both matches.
Houston has been beating up on a weak division for the majority of the year.
They have been seeded third but could not win a single game against the Bearcats or the Cardinals. Their seeding is deceiving and should be a third round victim of a strong Louisville team.
