CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — The Thiel women's volleyball team will begin play in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships Friday at 8 p.m. with a semifinal match against Bethany at Thomas More College.

The Tomcats enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and advanced to the semifinals with a first-round bye while the third-seeded Bison made their way to the semifinals with a 3-0 win over sixth-seeded Grove City on Tuesday.

As the old sports adage goes, it's hard to beat the same team three times in one season. The Tomcats will look to prove that saying true, as they have had the misfortune of coming out on the wrong end of their two previous matchups with the Bison this season. The Tomcats (22-7 overall, 15-3 PAC) lost at Bethany 3-1 and fell again to the Bison by that same score less than three weeks later at Beeghly Gymnasium in Greenville, Pa.

The Tomcats return five seniors who have now made the conference tournament in each of their four seasons. Three all-conference selections from a year ago returned this season, led by senior Kelly Barzak (Warren, Ohio/Howland). A first-team all-conference selection the last three seasons, Barzak became the school's all-time career leader in kills and blocks this year and enters postseason play fourth in kills per set (3.18) and second in blocks per set (.98) in the conference. She also ranks first in the PAC with a .332 hitting percentage.
 
Seniors Alyssa Chine (North Jackson, Ohio/Jackson Milton) and Megg Andrews (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) were also honored as all-conference selections last year and have continued to play well this season. Chine is second on the team with 243 kills and 360 digs. Andrews is third on the team in kills with 128 and is second to only Barzak with 78 total blocks.


Sophomores Alex Hall (Norwin, Pa./Norwin) and Lauren Downs (Mentor, OH/Mentor HS) will each make their second appearance in the conference tournament after both stepped in as starters this season for the Tomcats. Hall leads the team with 333 digs and is seventh in the PAC with 3.78 digs per set. Downs is third on the team with 220 digs and is one of the better servers on the team, statistically speaking, as she is currently ninth in the conference with 30 service aces.

Leading the way for the Bison is Taylor Cassidy, who is first in the conference in both kills and points. Setter Jess Zavatchen ranks 25^th in NCAA DIII and third in the conference with 10.36 assists per set.

The other semifinal matchup features top-seeded Thomas More against fifth-seeded Westminster, which topped fourth-seeded and the defending champ, Geneva College in the quarterfinals.

The championship match will be held at Thomas More on Saturday at 4 p.m. Fans can view video links and live stats from all three of the championship matches for free by clicking here.