FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University went unblemished through the 2021 regular season, earning the Generals the top seed entering the ODAC Volleyball Tournament next week. While the top-three seeds earned their positions straight from the league standings, four of the remaining five rankings required tiebreakers to finalize the event's eight-team field.
The 2021 tournament will be played under a new format with the conference moving away from the final four structure from years past. The quarterfinals will be hosted by the top four seeds on Wednesday, November 3. The four winners will take part in the semifinals in normal bracket progression on Friday, November 5. The highest remaining seed will host the championship on Sunday, November 7. All match times will be announced later this week.
RELATED: Live Bracket
Washington and Lee (11-0 in ODAC play), winner of the 2021 spring championship, is joined in the top-three by second-seeded Randolph-Macon College (10-1) and third-seeded Virginia Wesleyan University.
Seeds four-thru-six required a deep application of the conference's tiebreaking procedures. Bridgewater College, Eastern Mennonite University, and the University of Lynchburg all tied at 7-4 in ODAC matches. Their head-to-head matchups were even as were their individual profiles against the league standings. The fourth step in the tiebreaker, specific to volleyball, involves a comparison of set differential amongst the tied teams from their official regular season matches in conference play. BC defeated EMU, 3-0, on Friday, while EMU topped Lynchburg, 3-1, and the Hornets bested the Eagles, 3-1, earlier this year. That completely unlocked the stalemate with Bridgewater's plus-1 (4-3) differential awarding it the fourth seed. BC will host fifth-seeded Lynchburg in the quarterfinals. The Hornets earned their position with a zero (4-4) differential. Eastern Mennonite's minus-1 differential (3-4) secured the sixth seed and a quarterfinal date at Virginia Wesleyan.
Roanoke College (5-6) earned the seventh seed outright and will travel to Randolph-Macon for quarterfinal play.
The remaining seed in the field was determined by the last conference match on Saturday afternoon. Guilford College, which completed it conference slate on October 23, opened the weekend at 3-8. Ferrum College and Shenandoah University each owned 2-8 records with their match the last one on the ODAC schedule. The Hornets topped the Panthers, 3-1, to move into a tie with the Quakers. SU defeated GC, 3-0, earlier this month, fulfilling the first step in the conference's tiebreaking protocols. Shenandoah will play as the eighth seed and make the trip south to W&L for quarterfinal action.
RELATED: All-Time Championship Results
In addition to purchasing tickets on-site, fans looking to plan ahead for the conference's semifinals and championship can gain entry via Ticket Spicket. The ODAC's exclusive provider of digital ticketing, Ticket Spicket can be accessed HERE. Use your smartphone to bring your ticket to the event and join the crowd.
For more information on the 2021 ODAC Volleyball Tournament, see the pairings below, go to any of the participating schools' websites, and visit the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Game times will be added to the ODAC Volleyball Tournament website and the live bracket as they become available.
Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
ODAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, November 3 | at Seeds 1-4
Match 1: #8 Shenandoah at #1 Washington and Lee | TBA
Match 2: #5 Lynchburg at #4 Bridgewater | TBA
Match 3: #6 Eastern Mennonite at #3 Virginia Wesleyan | TBA
Match 4: #7 Roanoke at #2 Randolph-Macon | TBA
Semifinals | Friday, November 5 | at Highest Remaining Seed for Each Matchup
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 | TBA
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 | TBA
Championship | Sunday, November 7 | at Highest Remaining Seed
Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 | TBA