Milwaukee gains No. 1 seed in the 2007 Horizon League Volleyball Championship

Nov. 12, 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- An automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament is on the line as nine teams compete for the 2007 Horizon League Volleyball Championship in Milwaukee, Wis. The tournament begins Thursday (Nov. 15) at UWM's Klotsche Center, with the League champion to be crowned Sunday, Nov. 18.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee earned the top seed after it claimed its fifth straight regular-season crown. UWM went 15-1 in League play, including a perfect 8-0 record at home. The Panthers enter the tournament with a record of 25-2 and have lost just once since its opening day setback against nationally ranked Wisconsin. Milwaukee, leads the League in kills (16.37), opponent hitting percentage (.143) and digs (20.39 dpg).

The Panthers begin tournament play at 7:30 p.m. central time on Friday (Nov. 16) and will face the winner of Thursday's first-round match between No. 8 seed Loyola University Chicago and No. 9 seed University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the final quarterfinal match of the day.

Friday's other three quarterfinal contest feature No. 3 seed Wright State University against No. 6 University of Illinois Chicago at 11:30 a.m. central time. No. 2 seed Cleveland State University will follow as the Vikings face off against No. 7 seed Youngstown State University at 2:00 p.m. central time. The third match of the quarterfinals will place first-year Horizon League member and No. 4 seed Valparaiso University versus No. 5 seed Butler University at 5:00 p.m. central time.

The first semifinal match will begin at 1:30 p.m. central on Saturday and will feature the winners from Wright State-UIC match and the Cleveland State-Youngstown State pairing. The second semifinal match will place the winner of the Valparaiso-Butler meeting and the Milwaukee-Loyola/Green Bay match.

The championship final will begin at Noon central time.

The winner of the championship final will receive the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 29 at campus sites. The 2007 NCAA semifinals and finals will take place Dec. 13 and 15 in Sacramento, Calif.

Milwaukee captured claimed the League Championship in 2006 as it swept UIC 3-0 to gain the League's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The Panthers were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Iowa State (3-0).

For more information regarding the Horizon League Volleyball Championship log on to the Horizon League web site at www.horizonleague.org.