NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Gallaudet University women's volleyball team left for Newport News, Va., on Thursday morning after a group of faculty, staff and students cheered the Bison on as they left Kendall Green. The Bison are off to the 2011 NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament where they will play a first round match against Salisbury University on Friday, November 11, at 5:30 p.m. at Christopher Newport University.

Gallaudet, the two-time North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) champions, are making their second straight NCAA appearance, eighth overall where they sport a 3-7 record all-time. This is Gallaudet's fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament under the guidance of Head Coach Lynn Ray Boren, now in his seventh season.

Salisbury (31-3), ranked No. 3 in the Mid-Atlantic region, won the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) title with a 3-0 win over Stevenson University, ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic region, last Saturday at home. Salisbury is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance, its first since 2009, where the Sea Gulls are 3-6 in tournament play. Gallaudet and Salisbury are two of the 42 conference champions that were awarded automatic bids into the 2011 championship field.

The Sea Gulls hold a 27-26 lead in the all-time series with Gallaudet dating back to 1981. The two schools were big rivals in the CAC where GU was a member of the conference for 20 years. Salisbury has won the past five meetings, four by shutout, most recently last year on September 18 in Salisbury, Md. Gallaudet last defeated Salisbury, 3-2, on October 18, 2007, on the road.

Randolph-Macon (23-5), the three-time reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference champions, will face Johns Hopkins (25-4), the Centennial Conference champs, in the first round at 12:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are making their third appearance in the NCAA tournament while the Blue Jays are making their first-ever appearance. Emory (34-4), the No. 2 ranked team in the country and top team in the South region, and will face The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (25-8) at 3 p.m. Emory received a Pool C berth and is making its 17th appearance (16 straight) in the NCAA tournament where they are 27-16. Emory won the 2008 national championship and were the national runner-up last season. Richard Stockton captured its fourth straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title and is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and seventh in program history.

The winner of the Gallaudet-Salisbury game will face the winner between Maryville (Tenn.) College (26-7) and the host Captains of Christopher Newport University (33-4) on Saturday, November 12. CNU and Maryville will play at 8 p.m. in the first round. The Captains, ranked No. 7 in the nation and third in the South region, won the USA South Athletic Conference championship for a fifth time in a row. The Captains are one of the eight regional hosts. CNU is making its fifth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and ninth overall. Maryville won the Great South Athletic Conference championship and will make its 10th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. The champion of the Newport News regional will be determined by the winners of the Saturday matches on Sunday, November 13.

Tickets

Tickets will go on sale one hour prior to the start of each match. Tickets are available for single sessions or as an all-session deal. Single session tickets are $4 for students and seniors, and $6 for adults. All-session tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $12 for adults. Children two and under are admitted free of charge.

Live Video/Live Stats

The CNU Sports Information Office will be offering Live Stats and Live Video of all of the matches during the weekend.

To watch the Live Video feed please click on this link:
http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/cnu.portal?mode=link&eventId=40651&broadcastType=video#

To view the Live Stats page please click on this link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/cnu/wvball/

NCAA Game Programs

At more than 40 of this year's NCAA championships game-day programs will be available in digital format, free to college sports fans everywhere. IMG College Publishing is partnering with the NCAA to provide fans free access to selected NCAA championship programs before, during and after the events on smart phones or computers, in an environmentally friendly manner.

The NCAA and IMG are using the same technology - QR Codes - that the Gallaudet Sports Information Office debuted back in September for paperless programs. Fans can scan the QR code below or when they are at the venue and view the program on their smartphone or iPad or another tablet device. You can also log onto www.NCAA.com/gameprograms.

Also see:

• CNU Tournament Web Page