REGIONAL FACTS –  The No. 1 nationally ranked Emory University volleyball team is gearing up to serve as the host for regional action of the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championships.  It marks the first time since 2005 that the school has been selected to host a regional. All matches will be held at the Woodruff PE Center on the Emory campus.

Action in the eight-team regional begins on Friday (Nov. 12) with four first-round matches.  On Saturday, the region semifinals will be played at 3:30 and 6:00 p.m., with the Emory Regional Championship slated for 4:00 p.m., on Sunday (Nov. 14).  A list with times of the contests are below.

Friday, Nov. 12
Match 1 -- #3 seed Southwestern vs. #6 seed Thomas More (12:30 p.m.)
Match 2 -- #2 seed Cal Lutheran vs. #7 seed Hardin-Simmons (3:00 p.m.)
Match 3 -- #4 seed Washington & Lee vs. #5 seed Mount St. Joseph (5:30 p.m.)
Match 4 -- #1 seed Emory vs. #8 seed Piedmont College (8:00 p.m.)

Saturday, Nov. 13
Match 5 – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner (3:30 p.m.)
Match 6 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner (6:00 p.m.)

Sunday, Nov. 14
Emory Regional Championship (4:00 p.m.)

THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Jenny McDowell (Georgia, ’89) is in her 15th year at the helm of the Eagles’ program.  During her stint at Emory, McDowell has posted a school and career won-lost ledger of 471-122.  She has 12 campaigns of 30 or more wins and has now directed the program to 15 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.  She guided Emory to its first-ever national title in 2008 and was named as the AVCA National Coach of the Year.

Piedmont College is led by Sid Feldman, who is in his second campaign as head coach. Entering the Emory match, he has directed the Lions to a 44-22 won-lost ledger. In 15 years of college coaching, which includes an 11-year stint at Georgia (1978-88) and two-year stay at Breneau (1996-97), Feldman has compiled a career coaching mark of  382-187.

Bryan Snyder is in his 11^th year as head coach at Washington & Lee.  During his tenure with the Generals, he has chalked up an impressive school record of 312-81.  Snyder has now guided the program to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.  In 13 seasons as a head coach, that includes a couple of years at St. Mary’s (Md.),  he owns a 13-year career coaching effort of 353-106.

In his second season as the head coach at Mount St. Joseph is Jon Bennett.  Bennett will bring a school won-lost performance of 46-20 into this weekend’s action.

Calling the shots for the Hardin-Simmons program is fourth-year head coach Sabrina Bingham.  Heading into the Cal Lutheran match, Bingham has manufactured an 85-35 record.  She has led the Cowgirls to three straight seasons of 20 or more victories. 

Kellee Roesel  is in her fifth season as the head coach at California Lutheran University.  Roesel takes a school record of 110-36 into this weekend and led the Regals to four NCAA postseason appearances.

Serving as the head coach at Thomas More is John Spinney.  Now in his third season of his second stint with the Saints, Spinney checks in with a school record of 124-59 that also includes a two-year run with Thomas More in 2001 and 2002.

The Pirates of Southwestern are led by seventh-year head coach Hannah Long.  At the start of the Emory Regional, Long posts a school and career record of 224-51 and has chalked up six straight seasons of 30 or more wins.

2010 RECORDS – Emory, ranked No. 1 nationally among Division III teams, stands 31-4 in overall play.  Last weekend, the Eagles nailed down the University Athletic Association championship, the program’s second straight and fourth in the past six years.  Emory opened with 3-0 victories over Rochester and Case on Friday before topping No. 23 Chicago, 3-0, in the semifinals and then-No. 1 Washington University, 3-1, in the championship tilt.  Emory has won its last 14 matches and has captured 42 of 45 sets in that stretch.

Piedmont battles Emory with a record of 20-13.  The Lions earned an automatic slot to the tourney after capturing the Great South Athletic Conference championship this past weekend, defeating Huntingdon College in the title match.

Washington & Lee owns a 27-6 record following its runner-up performance at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships.  The Generals will meet Mount St. Joseph with wins in 13 of their last 15 matches.

Mount St. Joseph earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship last weekend.  The Lions, 22-10 on the year, defeated Bluffton College in the semifinals and Transylvania, 3-2, in the title match.

Cal Lutheran, ranked 20^th in the AVCA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, meets Hardin-Simmons with a 27-3 record.  The Regals earned the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating La Verne, 3-0, in the league’s championship match.  After dropping its first three matches of the season at the Wittenberg National Invitational (Sept. 3-4), Cal Lutheran has rattled off 27 straight wins.

Hardin-Simmons sports an overall slate of 21-7 after capturing the American Southwest Conference championship.  The Cowgirls earned the automatic bid after battling back from a 2-0 match deficit against Texas Lutheran to record a 3-2 triumph in the title match.

Southwestern University, ranked 21^st nationally, posts an overall record of 31-6, the program’s sixth consecutive campaign of 30 or more wins.  The Pirates, a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), garnered an at-large bid to this season’s national tournament.

Thomas More College checks in with a record of 28-7.  Last weekend, the Saint brought home the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) championship, defeating Thiel, 3-1, in the title contest.  Thomas More was won its last 17 matches and has dropped just one of its last 28 sets.

SERIES RECORDS WITH REGIONAL FIELD – Emory stands 5-0 against Peidmont College.  The schools last met on two occasions during the 2007 season with the Eagles coming away with a pair of 3-0 decisions, one of which came during the NCAA Regionals at Austin College.

Emory holds a 5-0 edge in the all-time series with Mount St. Joseph. The most recent meeting between the Eagles and Lions took place earlier this year (Sept. 5) at the Maryville College Tournament with Emory prevailing by a 3-2 margin.

Emory has won 19 of 20 meetings against the Generals of Washington & Lee.  The Eagles hosted Washington & Lee earlier this year at the Emory National Invitational and recorded a 3-0 victory.

If Emory meets either Cal Lutheran or Hardin-Simmons during the regionals, it will represent the first time that the schools have met in volleyball.

Emory has compiled an all-time mark of 13-4 against Southwestern.  The Eagles confronted the Pirates earlier this year (Sept. 4) at the Maryville College Tournament and escaped with a come-from-behind 3-2 win.

Emory enjoys an 8-2 advantage in the all-time series with Thomas More.  The last meeting took place in 2009 at the Washington & Lee Tournament with Emory recording a 3-0 win.

EMORY AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT – Emory’s appearance in this year’s NCAA Tournament Championship represents the program’s 16^th appearance in the event, and the 15^th during Jenny McDowell’s tenure as head coach.  The Eagles post an all-time record of 22-15 in NCAA play, 22-14 under McDowell.  The Eagles have played 12 NCAA matches on their home floor and stand 8-4 in those contests.

TEACHER vs. THE PUPIL WHEN EMORY AND PIEDMONT MEET – It will a reunion of sorts on Friday evening when Emory meets up with Piedmont College.  Piedmont’s Sid Feldman served as Jenny McDowell’s head coach during her playing days at the University of Georgia which ran from 1985 through 1988.  With Feldman coaching and McDowell’s standout play, the Bulldogs captured a pair of SEC championships and advanced to the Round of 16 in the 1985 and 1986 NCAA Tournaments.

EMORY LOOKS TO CONTINUE HOME COURT SUCCESS – When Emory hits the floor this weekend, it will be hoping that its home-court success continues.  Since 1992, Emory has compiled an impressive 264-46 won-lost record in home contests including a glittering 56-5 mark (.918) since the 2007 campaign.  So far in 2010, the Eagles stand 11-1 in matches played at the Woodruff PE Center.

EMORY AND THE NCAA FIELD – Emory has played a total of 17 matches against 14 teams that advanced to this year’s NCAA Tournament Championship.  The Eagles have enjoyed a fair amount of success against this year’s field that it has faced, racking up a 15-2 won-lost mark.  The Eagles have battled three NCAA Tourney members on two occasions (Washington University, 1-1, Chicago, 2-0 and Case 2-0).

EAGLES DUO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains for the 2010 Eagles is junior Natalie Schonefeld and senior Amelia McCall (Montgomery, AL).