RICHARDSON, Texas –– After a record-setting season, the UT Tyler volleyball team will look to take its success to the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament set for Nov. 3-5 at the UT-Dallas Activity Center.

The Patriots, the No. 3 seed from the conference's East Division, will take on West Division No. 2 seed Hardin-Simmons at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The Patriots beat Hardin-Simmons, 3-2, on Oct. 7 in their only meeting this season with the Cowgirls.

Under first-year head coach Suzanne Truitt, the Patriots set a single-season record for most wins with 19 victories on the year. UT Tyler was 11-6 in league play, including a 5-2 mark against West Division opponents in the two ASC Dig Pink Crossover Challenges during the season.  

Senior Danika Waldrep, who has 396 kills on the season, will lead the UT Tyler offensive effort, while freshman Emily Wood, who has posted 683 digs so far, will guide the defense.   

For the first time in the 14-year history of the event, a double-elimination format will be used. Six teams will still make up the field. All matches will be available for fans through free live video, audio and statistics. All links can be found on UTD’s athletic page (http://cometsports.utdallas.edu/showcase/) and the conference’s Tournament Central page.

Besides UT Tyler-Hardin-Simmons, Thursday’s matchups will be UMHB against TLU in the first round at noon, with the winner facing McMurry at 5 p.m. The UT Tyler-HSU winner will face UTD at 7:30 p.m. Play resumes on Friday at noon and concludes on Saturday with the championship match at 3 p.m. with an if-needed tilt following.

Texas-Dallas completed a 15-2 run through league competition to win the East Division title and earn the right to host the tournament.

The only returning ASC all-tournament selection from last year is Hardin-Simmons sophomore outside hitter Christine Sas. Texas-Dallas junior outside hitter Dana Hilzendager and McMurry junior middle blocker M.J. Vickers were honored at the 2009 tourney.

The tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship.

NOTES: Admission: Tournament passes are $15 for adults, $10 for students/children/seniors. Day passes are $7 for adults, $5 for students/children/seniors. Under age 6 will be admitted for no charge. No complimentary admission passes will be accepted . . . Official tournament long-sleeved t-shirts are $15. Official tournament programs are complimentary with admission. . . . The ASC volleyball tournament’s hosting rights rotate by division each year. . . . .Texas-Dallas also served as host in 2007 and 2009. . . . .The East Division leads the West Division 7-6 for all-time ASC titles won through a tournament. There was no such event in 1996 (Howard Payne) or 1997 (McMurry). . . You can follow ASC_sports on Twitter for quick results.

2011 AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
UTD Activity Center / Richardson, TX / Hosted by: University of Texas at Dallas

Thursday, November 3
Game 1: [East #2] Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. [West #3] Texas Lutheran, Noon
Game 2: [West #2] Hardin-Simmons vs. [East #3] Texas-Tyler, 2:30
Game 3: [West #1] McMurry vs. Winner Gm. 1, 5:30
Game 4: [East #1] Texas-Dallas vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30

Friday, November 4
Game 5: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, Noon
Game 6: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 2:30
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 5:30
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7:30

Saturday, November 5
Game 9 / Semifinal: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7, Noon
Game 10 / Championship: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 3:00
Game 11 / Championship 2, if needed: Game 10 Teams, 5:30