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Check out all the postseason matches today involving NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and how to follow them live.
CONFERENCE CAROLINAS TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
No. 1 seed Erskine (19-6, 15-3 CC) vs. No. 4 seed Belmont Abbey (18-10, 11-7 CC)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. in Due West, South Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
Season series: Tied 1-1
Last CC Tournament title: Erskine (2014); Belmont Abbey (never)
What to know: The top two offensive players in the conference will face each other as Erskine plays host to Belmont Abbey in the Conference Carolinas Tournament semifinals. Erskine outside attacker Mike Michelau was named the 2016 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year after being second in the conference with a 4.43 kills per game average. The senior also had six matches with at least 20 kills to help Erskine win the conference regular season championship and earn home court advantage throughout the conference tournament. Belmont Abbey outside attacker Nolan Albrecht leads the nation with a 5.04 kills per game average and is sixth in the Conference Carolinas with a .355 attack percentage. In addition, Albrecht earlier this week was selected as one of four finalists for the 2016 Karch Kiraly Award, which is presented to the nation’s top outside attacker. He also had a nation-best 13 matches with at least 20 kills, including a match-high 24 kills in Belmont Abbey’s four-game victor against Mount Olive in the quarterfinals last week. This is the first time since starting its program in 2013 that Belmont Abbey has advanced to the Conference Carolinas Tournament semifinals. Erskine is attempting to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 when it last when the conference championship. The Flying Fleet were on a six-match conference winning streak before losing to the Crusaders in their regular season finale earlier this month. Along with Michelau, Erskine all-conference outside attacker Roberto Perez Vargas is third in the conference with a 4.08 kills per game average and is hitting .322. Libero Michael Schneck also earned the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year honors after having a conference-best 2.98 digs per game average.
No. 2 seed Pfeiffer (16-7, 15-3 CC) vs. No. 3 seed Barton (21-6, 14-4 CC)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Due West, South Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video In-match tweets
Season series: Pfeiffer leads 2-0
Last CC Tournament title: Pfeiffer (2015); Barton (never)
What to know: Pfeiffer two weeks after ending Barton’s chances of winning its program’s first conference regular season title will now have try to end the Bulldogs’ season in the Conference Carolinas Tournament semifinals. The defending-Conference Carolinas champions Pfeiffer leads the conference and is among the national leaders with a .309 attack percentage, while Barton is second in the conference hitting .297. The Falcons in their four-game regular-season finale victory last week held the Bulldogs to a .184 attack percentage — their second lowest attack percentage in a conference match this season. Despite the loss that dropped Barton from winning the regular season title to the No. 3 seed, the team rebounded with a five-game victory against North Greenville in the conference tournament quarterfinals last week. All-conference outside attacker Pierre Tang-Taye finished with match-high 18 kills on a .419 attack percentage to lead Barton to its second postseason win in program history. Tang-Taye is seventh in the conference with a 3.60 kills per game average. In addition, freshman outside attacker Vasilis Mandilaris is among the conference leaders with a 3.25 kills per game average, while freshman outside attacker Aleksa Brkovic has a nation-best 0.66 aces per game average. Pfeiffer all-conference outside attacker Jonathan Martinez leads the team and is eighth in the conference averaging 3.59 kills per game, including having a combined 33 kills in two regular season wins against Barton. Both Pfeiffer middle attackers Evan Blair and Fabio Diniz are in the top three of the conference with more than a .400 attack percentage. The two middle attackers also each have finished with double-digit kills in the regular season matches versus Barton.