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The ConfCarolinas will officially open the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball postseason.
The conference tournament’s opening round will begin Wednesday. Check out matchups and the historical tidbits to know before filling out your ConfCarolinas Tournament bracket.
No. 5 seed Erskine (12-17, 6-8 ConfCarolinas) vs. No. 8 seed Barton (0-19, 0-14 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Wednesday in Due West, South Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
Season series: Erskine won in five games in March and then had a road sweep against Barton earlier this month.
All-time series: Barton leads 13-12
ConfCarolinas Tournament titles: Erskine (2014, 2016); Barton (2017, 2019)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to play Emmanuel in the quarterfinals.
Erskine player to know: Edgerrin Austin is fifth in the ConfCarolinas and among the national leaders with a 3.29 kills per game average, including having a combined 34 kills in the two regular season matches against Barton.
Barton player to know: Brandon Johnston is in the ConfCarolinas’ top 10 with a 3.23 kills per game average and is in the nation’s top 10 averaging 8.83 attack attempts per game.
Stats to know: Erskine has not won a postseason match since winning the ConfCarolinas championship in 2016. Barton with a victory will become the first team in a single season during the NCAA rally scoring era to have more postseason wins than regular season wins. A No. 8 seed has never won a match in the ConfCarolinas Tournament.
No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey (14-15, 5-9 ConfCarolinas) vs. No. 7 seed Lees-McRae (8-14, 4-10 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Belmont, North Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
Season series: The two teams each won their home matches with Belmont Abbey sweeping Lees-McRae in February and Lees-McRae winning in five games in March.
All-time series: Belmont Abbey leads 13-8
ConfCarolinas Tournament titles: Belmont Abbey (2021); Lees-McRae (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to play Mount Olive in the quarterfinals.
Belmont Abbey player to know: Andrew Kohut is in the nation’s top 30 with both a 0.51 aces per game average and a 3.36 kills per game average.
Lees-McRae player to know: Michael Marsans leads the nation with a 5.38 kills per game average on a .267 attack percentage, including a match-high 24 kills in Lees-McRae’s regular season win against Belmont Abbey.
Stats to know: Belmont Abbey is attempting to be the first team to repeat as ConfCarolinas Tournament champions since the conference started receiving an NCAA Tournament automatic bid in 2014. In addition, defending ConfCarolinas champions are 4-1 in their opening round matches during the conference’s automatic bid era. Lees-McRae has not won a postseason match since 2013 and has not won at Belmont Abbey since 2014. A No. 7 seed has never won a match in the ConfCarolins Tournament.