Alabama A&M and Prairie View earn top seeds in SWAC Volleyball Tourney

BIRMINGHAM-- A year ago, Alabama A&M University, newcomers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, entered the league's post-season volleyball tournament red shot and considered the team to beat.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW What: 2000 SWAC Volleyball Tournament When: Thursday-Saturday, November 9-11 Where: Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, Ark. Venue: Kenneth Johnson HPER Complex Time: Matches start at 10:00 a.m. each day

Just two rounds into that tournament, held at Jackson State University, the Lady Bulldogs had made a quick exit after losing back-to-back matches in the double-elimination championship. Prairie View A&M University, underdogs entering the 1999 tourney, won the title, their second and first in eight years.

This year, those two teams enter the SWAC tournament as top seeds from their respective divisions.

The 2000 SWAC volleyball tournament is slated for Thursday through Saturday, November 9-11, at the Kenneth Johnson HPER Complex on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The winner receives a bid to the NCAA tournament.

In the league's Eastern Division, Alabama A&M is seeded No.1 with conference-best records of 8-0 in the conference and 27-2 overall. Seeded No.2 is Alcorn State (6-2, 23-8) with Alabama State No.3 (3-3, 9-13), Mississippi Valley State No.4 (1-6, 5-20) and Jackson State No.5 (1-7, 4-34).

In the Western Division, Prairie View A&M is seeded No.1 with records of 7-1 in the SWAC and 16-15 overall. Seeded No. 2 is Texas Southern (7-1, 12-12) with Southern No.3 (4-4, 11-18), Grambling State No.4 (2-6, 14-24) and host Arkansas-Pine Bluff No.5 (0-8, 2-22).

The opening round of the SWAC tournament tips off at 10 a.m. on Thursday with Grambling State taking on Jackson State on Court 1 and Mississippi Valley State taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Court 2.

The remaining two matches on Thursday include 11:30 a.m. matches between Texas Southern and Alabama State on Court 1 as well as Alcorn State and Southern on Court 2.

Round two of the tournament starts at 10 a.m. Friday with the GSU-JSU winner facing Alabama A&M on Court 1 and the MVSU-UAPB winner facing Prairie View A&M.

Between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Friday, 10 more matches will be played at the Kenneth Johnson HPER Complex, narrowing the field of contenders from 10 teams to just three.

Saturday's final round tips off at 10 a.m. with a final loser's bracket game. The winner faces the lone remaining winner's bracket team for the 2000 SWAC crown at 11:30 a.m. Should the winner's bracket team lose that match, a deciding championship match is slated for 1 p.m.

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