UAlbany Hosts 2009 America East Volleyball Championship on Nov. 20-21 at University Gym

Cambridge, Mass. - After completing its second straight undefeated conference season, the University at Albany is the top seed and will host the 2009 America East Conference Volleyball Championship on Nov. 20-21 at University Gymnasium on campus. It is the third time in the last four years that UAlbany will host the league's postseason tournament. The Great Danes, who have won 16 matches in a row, have captured the America East regular-season title in four of the last five seasons.

UAlbany (20-8, AE 10-0) will face fourth-seeded UMBC (13-12, AE 5-5) in the first semifinal on Friday at 12 noon. New Hampshire (13-14, AE 5-5), which won four straight league matches to end the regular season and move from fifth to second in the standings, will take on third-seeded Binghamton (13-15, AE 5-5) in the second semifinal at 3 p.m.. The semifinal winners will play for the conference championship and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.

A four-way tie for the final three seeds in the tournament field emerged after regular-season play was completed. New Hampshire, Binghamton, UMBC and Stony Brook all finished with 5-5 conference records, and the deadlock had to be broken by going deep into the tie-breaking criteria. Three of UNH's last four wins were over Binghamton, Stony Brook and UMBC.

UAlbany will welcome the other three teams and fans to University Gymnasium for the championship. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for youth aged 14 and under, and $2 for America East students with proper ID. More information on the championship can also be found at the America East website, www.americaeast.com.

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2009 America East Conference Volleyball Tournament
(University Gymnasium, Albany, N.Y.)

Friday, Nov. 20

Semifinal Round
#1 UAlbany (20-8, AE 10-0) vs. #4 UMBC (13-12, AE 5-5), 12 p.m.
#2 New Hampshire (13-14, AE 5-5) vs. #3 Binghamton (13-15, AE 5-5), 12 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21

Championship
Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2, 1 p.m.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information