FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University will play its opening-round match in the 17th-annual Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 10) at 1 p.m. against I-95 rival UNC Pembroke. The single-elimination event is being hosted by Lander University in the Finis Horne Area in Greenwood, S.C.

Admission to the tournament is free. Live stats for all matches will be available through www.peachbeltconference.org and www.landerbearcats.com.

The tournament begins on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with third-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University (16-19 record) playing sixth-seeded Augusta State University (16-18).  Fourth-seeded FMU (13-20) and fifth-seeded UNCP (20-16) square off at 1 p.m., followed by the two semifinal matches at 5 and 7 p.m. The championship match is set for Sunday at 2 p.m.

If Francis Marion wins its opening match, the Patriots would face top-seeded USC Aiken (24-4) in the second semifinal match.

After opening the season 4-13, Francis Marion has won nine of its last 16 contests. Junior hitter Jessica Lombardi leads the conference in kills with 481, and is only seven kills away from having one of the top-15 seasons in PBC history and 45 kills shy of 1,000 for her career.   She is fourth in the PBC in service aces per game and 15th in digs per game.  Senior hitter Jackie Pheil is ninth in the conference in kills per game and 10th in digs per game. She is fifth on the PBC’s all-time career list with 1,680 digs – which ranks second in team history.

Four freshmen are in the Patriots’ regular rotation.

The Patriots split the season series with UNCP, including a three-game sweep by FMU last weekend in Florence, and Francis Marion leads the all-time series 36-25. Francis Marion owns an all-time record of 20-17 in PBC Tournament competition, including winning the 1997, 1998, and 2005 tournament titles.

The winner of the PBC tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament.