THE GAME
No. 12 Tarleton Volleyball is set to host the Lone Star Conference Tournament for the second straight season after winning the regular season conference title for the third time in program history. The TexAnns will take on No. 8-seed Eastern New Mexico in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.
 
LSC TOURNAMENT
The eight-team, single-elimination tournament consists of four first-round matches on Thursday beginning at noon, followed by two semifinal games on Friday evening starting at 5 p.m. and the championship match on Saturday at 3 p.m. Teams will compete for the 2018 tournament championship.  In addition to claiming the title, the LSC tournament winner will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship tournament. All seven games will be streamed live free of charge through the LSC's Tournament Central Page (TarletonSports.com/lscvbchampionship).
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for non-Lone Star Conference affiliated students. All students from participating Lone Star Conference schools and children ages five and under will be admitted free for the tournament. Tournament passes are also available at $25 for adults and $17 for non-LSC students. Tickets will be sold by session. The Tarleton Ticket Office is open from 1:30-4 p.m. in the main lobby of Wisdom Gym and can be reached by telephone at 254-968-1832. Cash and cards are accepted. Purchases can also be made online by visiting PayK12.com.
 
TARLETON'S PATH
The TexAnns are the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will open the event against Eastern New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. With a win, the TexAnns will advance to the semifinal round for a showdown against either (4) West Texas A&M or (5) Texas Woman's on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Championship is set for 3 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the opposite side of the bracket that includes (2) Texas A&M-Commerce, (3) Angelo State, (6) Texas A&M-Kingsville and (7) UT Permian Basin.
 
BACK-TO-BACK LSC CHAMPS
Tarleton earned the right to host and the No. 1 seed after going 27-3 on the year and 19-1 in the Lone Star Conference. It's the second straight LSC title for the TexAnns. Tarleton's season was highlighted by a program-record 24 straight wins, including 19 straight conference victories. Tarleton went 15-1 at home and have won 12 straight in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
Tarleton enters the LSC Tournament ranked No. 1 in the South Central Regional rankings. The TexAnns are sitting ahead of Texas A&M-Commerce (2) Colorado Mines (3), Dixie State (4), and Colorado Mesa (5) in the top five. Rounding out the bottom half of the poll is Angelo State (6), Regis (7), Metro State (8), Lubbock Christian (9) and West Texas A&M (10). The top eight teams in the regional rankings at the end of conference tournament championship weekend will advance to the NCAA postseason. The conference tournament champions are guaranteed an automatic berth into the playoffs, which could affect the rankings if a non-regionally ranked team wins their respective tournament and earned the berth. The regional tournament will be played at the home gym of the highest seed Nov. 16-18.
 
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Tarleton comes into the week at No. 12 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll. The TexAnns have been ranked in every poll this season, including five straight weeks in the top 15, and have been ranked as high as No. 10, which was a program record. The TexAnns are the highest ranked team in the LSC with Texas A&M-Commerce coming in at No. 22.