Championship Central | Complete Bracket
NEW ORLEANS - The Sun Belt Conference announced the complete bracket, final seeds, and game times for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship following the completion of regular season play on Sunday. The single-elimination tournament will be held from Thursday, November 16th through Sunday, November 19th at First National Bank Arena on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark.
Eight teams will compete for the Sun Belt Championship and a berth into the 2017 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.
The top four teams from each division qualified for the tournament with Coastal Carolina earning the top overall seed after finishing the regular season with the best conference winning percentage.
CCU finished the regular season with a 15-1 record, the second consecutive season the Chanticleers have done so.
Texas State finished the regular season with a 14-2 record, to earn the No. 2 seed in the championship. The top team in each division with the best conference winning percentage earned the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds a double-bye to the tournament’s semifinal round.
Thursday’s opening round will feature a pair of matches. The first match on Thursday will feature No. 6 UTA (13-16, 7-9 SBC) against No. 7 Appalachian State (11-19, 6-10 SBC) at 5 p.m. (CT). Fifth-seeded South Alabama (17-9, 12-4 SBC) will take on eighth-seeded Troy (10-21, 4-12 SBC) in Thursday’s final match at 7:30 p.m. (CT).
Friday’s matches will pit the winner of Thursday’s first match against third-seeded Louisiana (20-10, 13-3 SBC). The Ragin’ Cajuns earned a bye into the tournament with its No. 3 seed. Friday’s round will close out with tournament host and fourth-seeded Arkansas State (19-10, 12-4 SBC) taking on the winner of Thursday’s second match at 7:30 p.m. (CT). As host, Arkansas State had the option to choose the match time for its first round matchup and the Red Wolves chose to play in the 7:30 p.m. (CT) time slot.
The winners from Friday’s matches will advance to the semifinals to take on the league’s top two teams. The first match will pit Friday’s first match winner against No. 2 Texas State (23-8, 14-2 SBC) at 5 p.m. (CT) and the winner of Friday’s second match will take on top-seeded Coastal Carolina (18-7, 15-1 SBC) at 7:30 p.m. (CT).
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship begins on Thursday with two first round matches followed by two quarterfinal matches on Friday. The quarterfinal winners will advance onto Saturday’s semifinal matches with Saturday’s winners advancing to Sunday’s championship. The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT). All matches will be available for viewing on ESPN3. Fans can also follow along via Twitter (@SunBelt) or through live stats, also available at the Sun Belt website.
2017 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds
1. Coastal Carolina (18-7, 15-1) *
2. Texas State (23-8, 14-2) *
3. Louisiana (20-10, 13-3)
4. Arkansas State (19-10, 12-4) **
5. South Alabama (17-9, 12-4) **
6. UTA (13-16, 7-9)
7. Appalachian State (11-19, 6-10)
8. Troy (10-21, 4-12)
2017 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship Schedule
Thursday, November 16th (First Round)
M1 - 5:00 p.m. CT – No. 7 Appalachian State vs. No. 6 UTA
M2 - 7:30 p.m. CT – No. 8 Troy vs. No. 5 South Alabama
Friday, November 17th (Quarterfinals)
M3 - 5:00 p.m. CT – Winner M1 vs. No. 3 Louisiana
M4 - 7:30 p.m. CT – Winner M2 vs. No. 4 Arkansas State
Saturday, November 18th (Semifinals)
M5 - 5:00 p.m. CT - Winner M3 vs. No. 2 Texas State
M6 - 7:30 p.m. CT - Winner M4 vs. No. 1 Coastal Carolina
Sunday, November 19th (Championship)
M7 - 2:00 p.m. CT - Winner M5 vs. Winner M6
* - Texas State and Coastal Carolina were the division winners. Coastal Carolina finished conference play with a 15-1 record to earn the No. 1 seed while Texas State finished 14-2 in league play and is the No. 2 seed. Both teams receive byes into the semifinal round. The top team in each division is guaranteed either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
** - Arkansas State and South Alabama finished the regular season with identical 12-4 records. Arkansas State defeated South Alabama, 3-1, in the teams’ only matchup this season, therefore the Red Wolves earned the No. 4 seed. Seed Nos. 3 and 4 earn first round byes in the tournament.
NOTE: As tournament host, Arkansas State reserved the right to choose the playing time of its first round matchup and the Red Wolves chose to play in the 7:30 p.m. (CT) time slot.