Bracket set for 2005 Horizon League Volleyball Championship

Nov. 14, 2005

2005 Championship Bracket
Download Free Acrobat Reader

INDIANAPOLIS -- Regular-season champion University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will be the number-one seed in the 2005 Horizon League Volleyball Championship, which will be held this Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 17-20, the League office announced Monday (Nov. 14).

            Tournament action begins on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Flames Center on the campus of University of Illinois at Chicago, with a match-up between fifth-seeded University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and eighth-seeded Youngstown State University at 5 p.m. CT.  The Phoenix won both contests between the two teams this season, a 3-0 win on Oct. 7 and a five-game victory on Nov. 5. 

            In a repeat of the regular-season League finale for both teams, sixth-seeded Butler University will square off against seventh-seeded Wright State University in the second match of the tournament, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 17.  The Raiders took both matches from the Bulldogs this season.

            The winner of Thursday's UW-Green Bay/Youngstown State match will face No. 4-seed Loyola University of Chicago on the second day of competition at 5 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 18, while either Butler or Wright State will advance to face tournament host and third-seeded UIC at 7:30 p.m. that evening. 

            UW-Milwaukee, which has won the last three regular season titles outright, will have a bye into the semifinal round of the tournament. The top-seeded Panthers compiled a 12-2 League record this season and put together a string of ten straight wins.  Second-seeded Cleveland State University will also have a bye into the semifinals with the Vikings playing their first tournament match on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m.  CSU finished with an 11-3 record in League play, breaking the previous school record of six wins against Horizon League opponents.

            The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, with the winner earning the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be begin Dec. 1 at campus sites. The 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 15 and 17.

2005 Horizon League Volleyball Championship Schedule

First Round- Thursday, Nov. 17

Match 1: No. 5 UW-Green Bay (14-14, 6-8) vs. No. 8 Youngstown State (7-21, 0-14), 5 p.m. CT

Match 2:  No. 6 Butler (11-15, 6-8)  vs. No. 7 Wright State (9-19, 5-9), 7:30 p.m. CT

Second Round- Friday, Nov. 18

Match 3:  Winner of Match 1 vs. No. 4 Loyola (10-17, 8-6), 5 p.m. CT        

Match 4:  Winner of Match 2 vs. No. 3 UIC (12-18, 8-6), 7:30 p.m. CT

Semifinals- Saturday, Nov. 19

Match 5: Winner of Match 3 vs. No. 1 UW-Milwaukee (20-8, 12-2), 2 p.m. CT

Match 6: Winner of Match 4 vs. No. 2 Cleveland State (19-9, 11-3), 4:30 p.m. CT

Championship - Sunday, Nov. 20

Match 7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6, 1 p.m. CT