The 17^th-ranked Lee University volleyball team will return home for the last time in 2006 to host the NAIA Region XIII Tournament on Nov. 17-18.  The Lady Flames recently wrapped up their third straight Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. 

Also appearing in the tourney from the SSAC are No. 20 Berry College (32-8) and Shorter College (22-6).  The University of Mobile (30-5), Belhaven College (24-9), and Loyola University (21-9) represent the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.  In Pool A, the Lady Flames (27-7) will test Loyola at 1 p.m. on Friday, before concluding the night at 7 p.m. against Belhaven.

If Berry and Lee are able to advance out of pool play, they will likely face off for the fifth time this season.  The Lady Flames have captured three of the four matches, and each has proved to be a nailbiter.  In the first contest on Sep. 26, the Lady Vikes ended Lee’s 58-game conference unbeaten streak in a thrilling five-game match.

The Lady Flames evened the score on Nov. 3, defeating Berry in three games to secure the regular season title.  Lee then defeated their rivals twice in the SSAC tourney, including another five-game thriller for the tournament championship.

If a rematch with the Lady Vikings is not enough, fans will certainly have plenty to cheer about as Bruna Langner and Ligia Zobolli finish their fine careers and aim for one last shot to take part in the NAIA National Tournament.

Zobolli earned NAIA National Player of the Week honors after shattering a Lee record with 13 aces in one match on Sep. 12.  In that match, she recorded a very rare triple-double with 13 kills and 10 digs to go along with the mark for aces.  Over the course of the 2006 campaign, she has five matches of 20-plus kills and 26 with double-digits spikes.  Zobolli had a season high of 33 digs on 17 Sep. (sixth-best all-time).

Langner recently broke the all-time Lee record for blocks in a career, and presently has 805 total.  The previous mark was set by Katrina Chatfield with 791.  Langner leads the NAIA in blocks per game, at 1.73.  She also has 1,822 career kills (third all-time) and has been remarkably consistent at the net.  Of the 34 matches she has played, she has totaled at least nine kills in all but five matches. 

Katie Thornton also has continued her solid play and was named the SSAC Tournament MVP for a performance which included 88 assists, 11 aces, 32 digs, and 20 kills in the four-match tourney. 

Both pools will be in action on Friday, and two matches will be played at 1, 4, and 7 p.m.  On Saturday, the Pool A Winner will test the second place team from Pool B at 10 a.m., while the B winner will face the No. 2 team from the A pool at 12:30.  The Championship match is scheduled for 5 p.m.