LIVONIA, Mich. - The third-seeded Madonna University volleyball team is set to host six seed Cornerstone University in the first round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH

• The game will be streamed live via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live 

SERIES HISTORY

• Madonna swept Cornerstone this season, winning six of the eight sets the teams played and have won 41 of the 53 meetings all time
• Prior to this season, the Golden Eagles had won three straight and five of the last six meetings
• Madonna is 6-2 in WHAC tournament meetings
• The Blue and Gold are 28-5 at home in the series

THE HOME TEAM
The Crusaders enter the WHAC tournament with a 22-11 record and finished 14-6 in league play, but have lost four of their last five matches, including a pair of five-set losses at home. Madonna is led offensively by Jodie Kelly who leads the team and the NAIA with 562 kills, averaging 4.64 per set (4th in the NAIA). She is second on the team in digs (510) and third in blocks. Erica LaBaere is second on the team with 275 kills while Tauri Hintz (213) and DJ Sargent (204) also have over 200 kills each while freshman Janelle Kwasiborski has come on strong and has 107 on the year. 

Jordyn Dawson is the Crusaders primary setter and she has amassed 622 assists this season, 10.03 per set and also had 29 kills, 13 service aces, and 17 blocks. Olivia Sweeney leads the back row as she has 510 digs, 4.21 per set, from her libero position and is also a threat at the service line with a team-best 54 aces this season. Sargent has made a name for herself at the net as she leads MU with 110 blocks while LaBaere (63) and Kelly (55) are behind her. 

The Crusaders have never lost a WHAC quarterfinal contest and have qualified for the tournament every season since joining the conference in 1997. MU has won 10 tournament titles (1998, 2000, 02, 04-08, 12-13) with the last coming in 2013 and no team lower than a two seed has won the tournament. 

THE COMPETITION
The two-time defending tournament champions come in with a 15-16 record overall but a 12-8 park in the WHAC. The Golden Eagles ended the regular season having won their last four road contests. The Grand Rapids program has won five WHAC titles (1999, 2001, 03, 17, 18) and has faced MU in three of the past four tournaments. 

The Golden Eagles, who are led by Kayla Clark, have not lost a WHAC Quarterfinal since 2014. Clark is the setter for CU and has 1,180 assists this season, 10.17 per set, to go with 30 kills and 36 service aces. They have four players with triple-digit kills, including a pair with over 300 in Alexis Angus (318) and Bailey Cummings (304). 

Patsy Morris patrols the backline as she leads the team with 632 digs, 5.45 per set, while Brooke Nicholson and Angus power the defense at the net with 115 and 105 blocks, respectively. The Golden Eagles lead the WHAC and are 19th in the NAIA in blocks per game (2.3) and 15th in total blocks (266.5). 

THE TOURNAMENT

• All four quarterfinal contests will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
  • No. 1 Lawrence Tech hosts No. 8 Siena Heights
  • No. 2 Aquinas hosts No. 7 Lourdes
  • No. 3 Madonna hosts No. 6 Cornerstone
  • No. 4 UNOH hosts No. 5 Indiana Tech
• The winner of the Crusaders and Golden Eagles will face the Aquinas/Lourdes winner on Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 or 7:30 p.m. with the highest remaining seed hosting both the semifinals and the championship on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. 

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