The Lewis-Clark State College women's volleyball team will be the No. 2 seed when it tries for its third straight Frontier Conference Tournament title on Friday and Saturday at the LCSC Activity Center.
The conference announced the pairings on Sunday and broke the three-way tie for the top spot between LCSC, Carroll and Great Falls. The three teams tied for the regular-season conference title with 11-3 conference marks.
According to the conference tiebreaker, the first step is head-to-head competition, but all three split during the regular season to leave them with 1-1 records. The next tiebreaker is how each team did against the fourth-place team and down the line. Both LCSC and Carroll split against Rocky Mountain, which finished fourth, but Great Falls swept Rocky Mountain. Thus, Great Falls was awarded the top seed.
Because Carroll and LCSC post identical records against all conference teams, the next tiebreaker takes the number of sets won in conference matches divided by total number of sets played. LCSC won 36 of the 49 sets it played in conference for a .735 winning percentage. Carroll won 37 of 55 for a .673 winning percentage, which gives LCSC the tiebreaking edge. LCSC also swept Carroll 3-0, while Carroll beat LCSC 3-1 during the regular season.
That means LCSC will be the No. 2 seed, while Carroll College is the No. 3 seed.
The single-elimination tournament will hold four first-round matches on Friday, with the semifinals and championship match on Saturday. The eventual winner earns a spot in the 36-team national tournament. The top 12 teams in the tournament get byes, while the remaing 24 teams will play in 12 first-round matches at host sites.
The tournament is divided into four sessions with two matches Friday afternoon and two more on Friday evening. The third session is the semifinals on Saturday and the final session is the championship match.
Tickets prices are $20 for adults and $15 for students and Senior Citizens for a tournament pass. Individual sessions are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Tickets for the championship match are $10 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens.
For tickets, call the LCSC Ticket Office at (208) 792-2471 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
All matches at the LCSC Activity Center
All times Pacific
G1: Noon – No. 1 Great Falls (11-3, 25-8) vs. No. 8 Montana Western (0-14, 4-17)
G2: 2 p.m. – No. 4 Rocky Mountain (8-6, 19-10) vs. No. 5 Westminster (6-8, 9-19)
G3: 6 p.m. – No. 2 Lewis-Clark State (11-3, 20-7) vs. No. 7 Montana State-Northern (4-10, 7-13)
G4: 8 p.m. – No. 3 Carroll (11-3, 25-8) vs. No. 6 Montana Tech (5-9, 11-16).
Saturday’s pairings
G5: 11 a.m. – G1 winner vs. G2 winner.
G6: 1 p.m. – G3 winner vs. G4 winner.
G7: 7 p.m. – G5 winner vs. G6 winner (championship)
G7: 7 p.m. – G5 winner vs. G6 winner (championship)
