Horizon League volleyball teams face key weekend in regular season

Horizon League volleyball standings didn't see much change from a week ago.  Milwaukee (12-1, 17-8 overall) slid one-half match ahead of Butler (11-1, 17-7) atop the league standings with two wins last weekend, while slots three through nine remained intact.

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season teams in top position will look to secure its seeding this weekend, while others hope to move up in the standings and get a shot at making the six-team tournament.

The Panthers travel to No. 7 Wright State (3-9, 8-17) on Friday, while the Bulldogs host No. 6 Green Bay (5-8, 9-18).  The Raiders need to win this weekend to have a chance at getting into the tournament, while the Phoenix look for a victory to hold its position in the standings.

Also on Friday, Valparaiso, which sits fourth in the league at 8-5 (21-6), plays at No. 9 Youngstown State (0-12, 2-23), which is looking for its first league win of the season.   Third-place Cleveland State will host No. 8 Loyola (2-11, 9-16).  All matches are set to begin at 7pm ET

On Saturday, the Bulldogs and the Panthers will square off in a match that could play a crucial role in determining the host for this year’s championship tournament, with both teams in contest to win the regular season.  Milwaukee will face a tough challenge at Butler as the Bulldogs are the only conference team to beat the Panthers this year, and has only suffered one loss at home on the season.  First-serve is set for 4 pm ET.

Also on Saturday, Valparaiso travels to Cleveland State and Loyola heads to Youngstown State for 4 pm ET matches.  Wright State will host Green Bay at 5pm.  All matches on Saturday can be seen live on the Horizon League Network.

The 2010 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will take place at the site of the No.1 seed on November 19-21.