HICKORY, N.C. — The fifth-ranked Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team starts the chase for its eighth-straight conference tournament championship on Friday at Surry Community College.
The Red Hawks (29-4, 11-0) enter the 2019 Region 10 tournament as the top overall seed and face No. 8 seed Bryant & Stratton (7-11, 4-7) in the first round on Friday at 2 p.m.
CVCC head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson likes where her team is at heading into the event.
"They are playing really well," Hudson said of her team. "Everything is coming together. Our passing has been really clean. We are able to run our offense like we want to. We've been a lot more consistent with our hitting. It's nice to kind of peak going into the tournament. We are looking forward to a great weekend."
The winner between CVCC and B&S will face the winner of fourth-seeded USC Salkehatchie and fifth-seeded host Surry in one of two Saturday semifinals starting at 10 a.m. The other semifinal takes place at noon.
The winners of those two Saturday semifinals will play in the championship match 30 minutes after the last semifinal ends.
Hudson sees the benefit of playing at Surry Community College, where the Red Hawks just competed last week, and being familiar with the venue.
"Any time you go to a new gym and facility, it takes you a while to get acclimated," she said. "I don't think it will hurt us to have played there last week. It's definitely a benefit to have played there."
CVCC has won the past seven Region 10 tournaments and has not lost a game in Region play since Oct. 27, 2011 (176-0 during the past eight seasons).
The Red Hawks have also lost only 36 sets in Region play (25 of those in conference matches) during that time. They have no dropped a single set in conference play this season – a mark Hudson is proud of.
"That just speaks volumes of their hard work, their commitment and what they are able to accomplish when they work together as a team," she said. "I think we are prepared. We'll see what happens."
The Region 10 tournament champion faces the tournament champion from Region 7 — Walters State — in the Southeast District final on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Tarlton Complex on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College. Game time has yet to be determined.
The Southeast District champion advances to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Championship, which takes place in Charleston, W.Va. from Nov. 21-23.
For a complete look at the Region 10 volleyball tournament, see below:
2019 Region 10 tournament schedule
Friday's first round (at Surry CC)
No. 4 USC Salkehatchie (14-14) vs. No. 5 Surry (14-8), noon
No. 1 Catawba Valley (29-4) vs. No. 8 Bryant & Stratton (7-11), 2 p.m.
No. 2 Cape Fear (15-3) vs. No. 7 Pitt (11-10), 4 p.m.
No. 3 Wake Tech (19-4) vs. No. 6 Fayetteville Tech (7-12), 6 p.m.
Saturday's semifinals (at Surry CC)
Catawba Valley/Bryant & Stratton winner vs. USC Salkehatchie/Surry winner, 10 a.m.
Cape Fear/Pitt winner vs. Wake Tech/Fayetteville Tech winner, noon
Championship match (Saturday at Surry CC)
Semifinal winners, 30 minutes following last semifinal
