No. 5 seed Shorter vs. No. 4 seed UAH
WHEN	Friday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.
WHERE	Pensacola, Fla.
FOLLOW	Live Stats | Live Video
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@GameDayUAH)

PENSACOLA, Fla. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville volleyball team opens play in the 2017 Gulf South Conference Volleyball Championships on Friday as the fourth-seeded Chargers match up against No. 5 seed Shorter in the first round of the event. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. on the campus of West Florida.
 
The Chargers garnered the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament following a 23-11 regular season that included an 11-5 mark in GSC contests, while the Hawks also went 11-5 in league play and finished the regular season 18-10 overall.
 
UAH will compete in its first GSC tournament under second-year head coach Dr. Cade Smith this weekend, which is the 17th time in program history the Chargers have earned a berth to the conference tournament. The Chargers played Shorter in their last tournament berth in 2015, with the Hawks edging UAH 3-1 to advance.
 
The UAH offense boasts a pair of players with 200 kills or more in 2017, including two-time All-GSC honoree Anna Claire Johnson with 256 and Anna LeDuc with 208. Defensively, the Chargers benefit from First Team All-GSC member Haley Hop with 5.28 digs per set and Caroline Sanford with 1.13 blocks per set, as both players lead the roster and the conference in their respective statistical categories.
 
The Chargers wrapped up the regular season at home against West Alabama with a 3-1 win that featured a career day for Johnson who notched a career-high 22 kills in the contest.
 
UAH and Shorter are one of two first round matchups on Friday as No. 6 seed Lee and No. 3 seed West Alabama battle to advance to the semifinals. The winner of UAH/SU will play No. 1 seed West Florida at 2 p.m. on Saturday, while the winner of LU/UWA will play North Alabama at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.