Volleyball draws North Texas in first round of Sun Belt Championship Thursday

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee volleyball team will be the number six seed in the 2012 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship and will take on the third-seeded North Texas Mean Green in the first round, the conference office announced late Sunday night.

The 2012 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship is hosted by WKU, who is also the top seed in the tournament. Middle Tennessee and North Texas will play at 2:30 p.m. this Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena. Prior to the match, the number two seed Troy will take on the seventh-seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

The Blue Raiders enter the tournament with a 10-22 record, compiling a 7-8 conference mark. Middle Tennessee won three of its last five matches to finish Sun Belt play. The Blue Raiders are 20-8 all-time in the Sun Belt Tournament for a .714 winning percentage, the highest of any conference team. They have also won four of the last six conference tournament titles, last winning in 2010 at Alumni Memorial Gym.

Middle Tennessee is 4-0 all-time against North Texas in the Sun Belt Championship. The Blue Raiders have defeated the Mean Green in the semifinals in each of the last two seasons. North Texas clinched the third-seed in the tournament on Sunday, defeating UALR 3-0. The Mean Green is 23-11 on the year and finished Sun Belt play 9-5. In the only meeting of the season between the two teams, North Texas swept Middle Tennessee 3-0 at the North Texas Volleyball Gym on Oct. 7. 

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