Xavier gets rematch at Spring Hill in NAIA opening round

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana will get a rematch with Spring Hill on Saturday in the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.

The NAIA announced Sunday the 32 qualifiers and pairings for 12 first-round matches. Xavier (23-6) and Spring Hill (38-1) will meet at the Arthur Outlaw Rec Center on Spring Hill's campus in Mobile, Ala. Starting time has not been determined.

The Gold Nuggets earned an automatic bid to nationals after beating SUNO 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday in the championship match of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Nashville, Tenn. The appearance at nationals is Xavier's first in four seasons of intercollegiate competition.

Xavier beat SUNO 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday to win the
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Nashville, Tenn.

(click on photo to enlarge)

Spring Hill defeated Xavier 25-10, 25-20, 25-12 at Mobile on Sept. 6. Since then the Gold Nuggets have won 22 of 26 matches, including a pair of school-record eight-match win streaks. The Nuggets also set program records for victories, home victories (8), conference victories (10) and victories on opponents' courts (6). Xavier was 11-26 a year ago.

The Badgers won 38 in a row before losing 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 25-21 Satruday to third-ranked Lee (Tenn.) in the title match of the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships at Biloxi, Miss. Spring Hill beat Lee in five sets in mid-September.

"Spring Hill is a strong program. To be ranked 16th and have an astounding 38-1 record is very respectable," said Xavier first-year coach Christabell Hamilton. "We have grown a lot as a team since our first meeting, and I am excited for the match this weekend. This will be a good challenge for us."

Xavier is 0-10 all-time against Spring Hill, with the six most recent losses occurring in straight sets.

Saturday's other first-round matches are Carroll (Mont.) at College of Idaho, Montreat at Indiana Wesleyan, La Sierra at Vanguard, Robert Morris (Chicago) at Missouri Baptist, Point Park at Indiana Tech, Cal State San Marcos at Point Loma Nazarene, Lindsey Wilson at Taylor, Oklahoma Baptist at Kansas Wesleyan, MidAmerica Nazarene at Bellevue, Grand View at Olivet Nazarene and Freed-Hardeman at Indiana East. First-round byes went to Azusa Pacific, Biola, Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Fresno Pacific, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, Morningside, Rocky Mountain, Southern Oregon and Texas at Brownsville.

The winners of the Saturday matches will advance with the 12 teams with byes to the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, for the NAIA National Championship presented by CNOS Foundation Nov. 29-Dec. 3.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Florida A&M turns focus to Florida Classic

DURHAM, North Carolina — Now that the picture is clear as to whom is the MEAC champion, coach Joe Taylor wasted little time explaining the significance of Saturday's game that has turned into a little bit more than a rivalry between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman.

Norfolk State won the league title, leaving the Rattlers to fight for the No.2 spot, which might actually mean something as far as an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs. If nothing else, they will be playing for state bragging rights in the nationally-televised game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

"Now this game down there has significant value to it," said Taylor following the Rattlers' 31-10 victory Saturday over North Carolina Central. "We will get back and we will prepare. It's going to be electric for the classic; it always is but (the stakes) are going to add some things to it."

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FAMU Marching 100 leading Tallahassee, Florida Veterans Day Parade, 11/11/2011.

NCAA Division II Football Championship Selections Announced

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The NCAA Division II Football Committee announced Sunday the field of 24 teams for the 2011 NCAA Division II Football Championship.

Eight first-round games will be conducted on the campus of one of the competing institutions. In addition, two teams per super regional have earned first-round byes. The first-round winners will all advance to face a bye team in their super regional in the second round on the campus of one of the competing institutions. Second-round winners will meet in the quarterfinals at various campus sites. Quarterfinal winners will advance to play in the semifinals on the campus of one of the competing institutions. Six teams selected per super regional make up the field of 24 teams.

2011 Division II Championship
Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Championship Information

Dates, sites and pairings
Nov. 19 at Livingston, Ala.
North Alabama (8-2) at West Alabama (8-3)

Nov. 19 at Tigerville, S.C.
Albany State (Georgia) (8-3) at North Greenville (9-2)

Nov. 19 at St. Joseph, Mo.
Northwest Missouri State (9-2) at Missouri Western State (9-2)

Nov. 19 at Topeka, Kan.
Abilene Christian (8-2) at Washburn (9-2)

Nov. 19 at California, Pa.
Elizabeth City State (8-3) at California (Pa.) (9-2)

Nov. 19 at Kutztown, Pa.
Concord (7-3) at Kutztown (10-1)

Nov. 19 at Duluth, Minn.
Saginaw Valley State (7-3) at Minnesota-Duluth (9-2)

Nov. 19 at St. Cloud, Minn.
Wayne State (Michigan) (8-3) at St. Cloud State (9-2)

Super Regional/School

Super Regional One
Winston-Salem State (11-0)
New Haven (10-1)

Super Regional Two
Delta State (9-2)
Mars Hill (8-2)

Super Regional Three
Colorado State-Pueblo (11-0)
Nebraska-Kearney (10-1)

Super Regional Four
Midwestern State (10-0)
Pittsburg State (9-1)

Institutions earning first-round byes in each super regional will host a second-round game on Nov. 26, 2011.

All contests shall start at noon local time. Other times may be established if approved by the committee.

Minnesota-Duluth defeated Delta State in the 2010 national championship game to claim last year’s NCAA title.

The championship game will be played Dec.17, at 11 a.m. ET at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala., and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com.

Courtesy NCAA.com

Stetson Hatters To Square Off With FAMU Rattlers Tonight

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After winning their season-opener at home on Friday night, the Stetson Hatters will take their show on the road for the first time for a two-game swing through the state capital.

Stetson (1-0) will square off with Florida A&M (0-1) on Monday night at the Al Lawson Center on the FAMU campus with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Hatters will then face Florida State (1-0) at the Donald L. Tucker Center on the FSU campus on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

The Seminoles will also be in action on Monday, hosting UCF at 7 p.m.

The Hatters are looking to make major improvement in the area of ball protection during this road trip. Stetson turned the ball over 29 times in a 65-60 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Friday, the most in a game for the Hatters since January of 2002 in a game at Troy when Stetson turned it over 32 times.

“Our staff wants to see our guys be more sound and more consistent,” Stetson head coach Casey Alexander said. “We thought our shot selection was a lot better, when we actually got shots against Bethune. We just didn’t get enough of them because we kept throwing the ball to them and turning it over.”

The Hatters shot a respectable 54.8 percent from the field against B-CU, but managed just 42 shots in the game, as compared to 73 for the Wildcats. Bethune managed to hit just 19 of those shots, a 26 percent clip.

“I think we played hard and I think our guys tried to execute our defensive game-plan,” Alexander said of his team.

Stetson will likely see a similar type of team from Florida A&M, which opened the season on Friday with a 92-59 loss at Georgia Tech. The Rattlers shot just 37.7 percent from the field in that game, and got outrebounded 46-19.

“I think we will see a lot of the same from FAMU,” Alexander said. “I think they have more quality depth than we saw on the Bethune team, but they are not a team where we should not expect to go in and win the game. It won’t be easy and we aren’t favored, but it is a chance for us to get a road win, which would be great for us going forward.”

For the Hatters to be successful, they will have to continue to focus offensively on getting the ball inside to 6-9 junior center Adam Pegg. The Clearwater native tied for the team lead with 14 points on Friday, and got six of those from the free throw line.

“We wanted to get the ball to Adam, and we want to do that this year,” Alexander said. “He is the best chance we have of getting off to a good start by getting some interior points and getting to the free throw line. That is a focus for us, we talk a lot about that and our guys did that.”

After getting established on the inside, the Hatters should be able to get some open looks from the perimeter, which is what happened in the second half of the opener. Both Aaron Graham and Joel Naburgs connected on a trio of three-pointers, with five of the six bombs coming in the second half.

Alexander said Naburgs is almost back to full strength after missing an extended stretch during the preseason with an injury.

“I think Joel is OK,” Alexander said. “He made a big one late. He is a guy who plays with confidence, which we need. I am not worried about him. I think he will be fine over the course of the long haul.”

Courtesy: Stetson University

Norfolk State earns first MEAC championship after 47-14 win at Morgan State

BALTIMORE, Maryland  --  It took Norfolk State 14 years to put itself in a position to win a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship. It took the Spartans five minutes to clinch it. Norfolk State defeated Morgan State 47-14 Saturday thanks to a 17-point scoring flurry in the first five minutes of the second half.

The win clinches the school's first MEAC championship and earns the Spartans an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. It is the school's first FCS playoff appearance. "I feel great for them," Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian said. "They'll go down in history for the first MEAC title, and that's a great thing."

Photo Gallery: View all 8 photos



Norfolk State led 20-14 at halftime. It looked as though Norfolk State would run away with the game early on, but the Spartans had two drives stall out in the red zone in the first half. Norfolk State (9-2, 7-1 MEAC) struck quickly after the break, though.

Running back Randy Maynes scored on the first play from scrimmage in the quarter, a 56-yard run off right tackle that Maynes cut back for a touchdown. A defensive stop, a 28-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Estep and a Morgan State (5-5, 4-3) fumble on the ensuing kickoff quickly followed.



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NSU cinches MEAC championship with 47-14 victory

BALTIMORE, MD - Randy Maynes took a hand-off on the first play of the second half and handed back history. With Norfolk State leading by six and only one half of football standing between it and the playoffs, Maynes took the first play of the second half and rushed 56 yards up the middle of the Morgan State defense, erasing more than a quarter-century of football failures.

The touchdown, an inside run that Maynes bounced off-tackle, set off an avalanche of points for the Spartans in a 47-14 win over Morgan State (5-5, 4-3) and began a quick transition from close contest to championship celebration.  Maynes' run made the score 27-14 and the Spartans (9-2, 7-1) tacked on 10 more points over the next five minutes, making the fourth quarter a victory march.

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Prairie View's path to SWAC title game clear

Prairie View, Texas -- Prairie View A&M could advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game under two scenarios. But the Panthers care mostly about the main one - beating Alabama A&M.

Prairie View (5-5, 5-3 SWAC) is in control of its destiny as it prepares to face Alabama A&M in the teams' regular-season finale Saturday at Blackshear Stadium in Prairie View. The Panthers are tied with Grambling State (6-4, 5-3) for first place in the Western Division but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with their 31-23 win in the teams' Oct. 1 meeting.

Alabama A&M (7-3, 6-2) also needs a win to clinch the Eastern Division and advance to the title game. A loss would end the Bulldogs' championship hopes.

"The bottom line is that both teams are playing for their postseason lives right now," Prairie View coach Heishma Northern said. "As a football player and a coach, you want to play for all the marbles."



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S.C. State announces signing of five hoops players

Orangeburg, South Carolina -- S.C. State officially announced the signing of five men's and women's basketball players for the 2012-13 season.

The newest Bulldogs include Orangeburg-Wilkinson point guard Patrick Myers, Timberland forward Darryl Palmer, Baptist Hill point guard Shaquille Mitchell and junior college guard Louis Adams.

S.C. State women's basketball coach Doug Robertson Jr. announced the signing of Spring Valley point guard Shaquita Walker. The 5-5 point guard averaged 7.1 points 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 4.1 assists for the defending Class 4-A champions last year.

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