REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS HEAD TO SOUTH CAROLINA FOR BSC TOURNAMENT

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CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

RADFORD, Va. – Fresh off its eighth Big South regular season championship, No. 1 seed Radford travels to Clinton, S.C. for the 2013 Big South Volleyball Championship, which begins Thursday with the Highlanders battling Gardner-Webb at noon inside the Templeton Center.

GWU SERIES AT A GLANCE
Thursday's meeting is the second time in six days RU and Gardner-Webb will square off against each other. Last Friday, Radford claimed its first win at Paul Porter Arena since 2011 with a 3-1 triumph over the Runnin' Bulldogs. Ahead 8-4 in the all-time series, the Highlanders suffered a 3-2 setback to the Runnin' Bulldogs in the two sides' first meeting this season. Interestingly, this will be the first time the two programs meet in the conference tournament.

SCOUTING THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
Gardner-Webb (15-17, 6-8 Big South) has lost five straight, and six of its last seven. Erin Anderson puts down 2.91 kills per set, while Heather Feldman ranks third in the Big South with 10.02 assists per set. Defensively, Anna Pashkova tallies 5.33 digs per frame (fifth in league). At the net, Tyra Montour is seventh in the conference with 0.97 blocks per set.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
Radford enters the match with a 22-9 record following its 3-1 triumph over UNC Asheville. Rachel Wiechecki (446), Cheyanne James (331) and Emma Deininger (260) pace the Highlanders offensively in kills. Wiechecki has racked up 48 aces, in addition to ranking second in the league for kills per set (3.69) and eighth in digs per set (3.55). She also leads the league with her 18 double-doubles.

Jena Braden guides the team in assists having registered 1,002 so far this year. Deininger leads the team in total blocks (132), which is the highest mark in the Big South and is a program single-season record.

As a team, Radford leads the league in hitting percentage (.239), opponent's hitting percentage (.166) and blocks (295.5), while ranking second in assists per set (12.13), second in kills per set (13.16) and third in aces per set (1.34).

RECORD WATCH
A number of current Highlanders are making their marks on the program's record books. Wiechecki continues to chase the top mark for career kills, which is currently held by Divona Cox who cranked 1,066 kills from 2002-05. The junior's tally sits at 963 entering the tournament. She is also second in career kills per set (3.02), second in double-doubles (35), third in aces (110) and fifth in digs (913). Braden is third all-time in the assists' department with 2,041, while Rachel Flores is 10^th with 366.

Defensively, Deininger (325) and Miedema (180) are second and sixth, respectively, in total blocks. In addition, Deininger is second in block assists (286), while Miedema is sixth (168). Deininger also knows how to get it done offensively as the junior is seventh all-time in career kills with 670.

TOURNEY TIME
Radford enters the conference championship as the top seed for the fourth time in its program history and first time since 2001. The Highlanders' eighth regular season conference championship is also the first since 2001, and just the fourth RU has won outright. Radford will be gunning for its fifth league tournament title, including its first since 2000. RU has reached the championship match eight times with its last appearance in 2011 against Liberty.

ON A ROLL
Junior outside hitter Rachel Wiechecki was selected the Choice Hotels Big South Player of the Week three times this season, bringing her career total to six. In her final 10 matches of the season, the Wilmington, Del. native tallied double-figure kills. She finished the year with double-figure kills in 25 of her 30 matches played. In addition, Wiechecki tallied the only 30/20 match in Big South play this season behind her 32 digs and 27 kills against UNC Asheville last Saturday.

CHRISTMAS IN NOVEMBER
Nine accolades were added to Radford's record-breaking season Tuesday afternoon when the Big South announced its annual volleyball postseason honors as voted by the league's 10 head coaches. RU received three of the four major awards.

For the first time in program history, five Highlanders were selected All-Big South. Headlining the group was Big South Player of the Year Rachel Wiechecki. Joining her classmate on the all-conference first team was Emma Deininger, who was also recognized as the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Cheyanne James represented Radford on the second team, while Kelby Jackson and Jordan Watson were named to the all-freshman team.

Only two years removed from earning the 2011 Big South Coach of the Year distinction, head coach Marci Jenkins was chosen once again for the award after steering the Highlanders to their eighth conference regular season championship. They were predicted to finish sixth in the preseason poll.

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