University of Southern Indiana Volleyball begins the ninth annual Midwest Region Crossover Friday at 11:30 a.m. when it takes on Northwood University (Michigan) at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Illinois.
USI (8-10, 3-6 GLVC) also plays Alderson Broaddus University Friday at 5:30 p.m. before finishing the Crossover with Tiffin University Saturday at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the event will be $5 for adults and students; $4 for seniors; while children, ages 13-and-under, are free. Live stats for all of USI’s matches can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
USI Volleyball Notes (10/12/16)
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About the Midwest Region Crossover. Formerly known as the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover, the Midwest Region Crossover is the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country, featuring 36 teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC).
While the GMAC joined the Crossover last year, the GLVC and GLIAC have been battling for regional bragging rights since the Crossover’s inception in 2008. The GLIAC won the inaugural Crossover with a 27-12 margin in 2008; then went 24-21 versus the GLVC in 2009.
The GLVC edged the GLIAC, 23-22, in 2010; then claimed a 19-11 win in 2011 and a 28-20 triumph in 2012. After tying the GLIAC in 2013 with a 24-24 record, the GLVC dominated in 2014, claiming wins in 37 of the 48 matches contested.
Last year, GLVC schools posted a 28-20 record versus the GLIAC and GMAC, while the GLIAC was 24-24 against the GLVC and GMAC. The GMAC went 2-10 in its first appearance at the Crossover.
USI at the Midwest Region Crossover. USI is looking to build on a six-match winning streak at the Midwest Region Crossover after going 3-0 in 2014 and 3-0 a year ago. USI is 12-12 all-time at the event.
Familiar foe. USI’s bout with Northwood in the Midwest Region Crossover opener Friday marks the third time in the last two years that the Screaming Eagles and Timberwolves have met on a volleyball court. The Eagles claimed three-set sweeps in both meetings a year ago, but Northwood leads the series, 9-6, since 1989.
This is the third straight year USI and Northwood have met in the Crossover and the sixth time since the Crossover’s inception. The Eagles are 4-1 against the Timberwolves at the Crossover, having won the last four meetings.
Last week. USI went 1-2 in GLVC play last week. The Eagles suffered a three-set loss to visiting Bellarmine University last Tuesday before topping the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in four sets last Friday at the PAC. USI fell in three sets to No. 13 Lewis University the following day.
About the opposition.
Northwood begins the Midwest Region Crossover with a 9-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in GLIAC play. The Timberwolves have lost four straight matches, all in straight sets, entering Friday’s play.
Alderson Broaddus is 2-16 overall and 1-0 in the GMAC heading into Friday’s Crossover. USI defeated the Battlers lost in four sets last year in Elkins, West Virginia.
Tiffin enters this week’s action with a 10-8 overall record and a 3-6 mark in GLIAC play. The Dragons have won three of their last five matches, including a three-set triumph over Kentucky Wesleyan College in their most recent outing.
