Volleyball BIG EAST Championship Bound

SU will participate in the 2004 BIG EAST Conference Volleyball Championship for the first time since 1999. SU finished the regular-season with an overall record of 25-6, 8-2 in the league to tie for second-place with Pittsburgh.

Live stats will be available for all the matches in the BIG EAST Championship on the BIG EAST website.

Notre Dame finished its league campaign at 9-1 to win the regular season BIG EAST title

and claim the top seed in the 2004 BIG EAST Championship. The Irish have won at least a share of the regular season crown in nine of the 10 years they have been a member of the BIG EAST. Defending champion Pittsburgh and Syracuse both concluded conference play with a mark of 8-2. Due to the Panthers’ 3-2 victory against SU on Sunday, November 14, the Panthers will enter the league championship as the No. 2 seed and the Orange will be seeded third. Boston College is the No. 4 seed after beating St. John’s, 3-1, in its final match of the regular season. BC and Connecticut both concluded the BIG EAST portion of their schedules with a 6-4 record, but the Eagles advance to the Championship due to their 3-0 sweep of the Huskies on November 11.

The conference championship will be played at the Fitzgerald Field House on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, November 20-21. The semifinal matches are set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, with Sunday’s championship match scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Top seed Notre Dame will square off with No. 4 seed Boston College in the first semifinal on November 20. The Eagles are the only BIG EAST team to have beaten the Irish in 2004, winning at Notre Dame, 3-0, on November 7. The loss by ND was its first regular-season BIG EAST home loss since the Irish joined the league in 1995. Notre Dame had been 58-0 at home in regular-season BIG EAST play. BC is making its first appearance in the Championship since 1993, the last season in which all teams qualified for the conference tournament.

No. 2 Pittsburgh will face third seed Syracuse in the second semifinal match. The Panthers have won more BIG EAST titles than any other program after winning their 11th crown last season. The Orange has claimed a spot in the Championship for the first time since 1999, the final year six teams competed in the league event.

The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.

2004 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship

Fitzgerald Field House - Pittsburgh, Pa.

Semifinals

Saturday, November 20

No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Boston College 1:00 p.m.

No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Syracuse 3:30 p.m.

Championship

Sunday, November 21

Semifinal winners 2:00 p.m.