Charleston, S.C. The Bulldogs will travel to Orangeburg, S.C. this weekend to participate in the South Carolina State Tournament, which will take place Sept. 19-20. While in Orangeburg, the Bulldogs will face North Carolina Central, Wofford, Hampton and South Carolina State.
“This is our last weekend before we start conference play,” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “This will be our most demanding tournament yet, because we play four matches in two days. Our other tournaments have included just three matches.”
The Bulldogs (3-5) will battle the Eagles of North Carolina Central in their first match of the tournament on Friday, Sept. 19 at 12:00 p.m. The Eagles enter the tournament, 0-12, and lead the series against The Citadel, 1-0. The Bulldogs look to even the series at one match apiece.
Later Friday evening, the Bulldogs will have a chance to take on SoCon rival Wofford in a non-conference match. The Bulldogs and the Terriers will battle at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Wofford enters the tournament with an 8-2 record and are on a seven-game winning streak. The Terriers lead the series against the Bulldogs, 13-5.
“I think we match up well against all of the teams in this tournament,” said Geiger. “We even play conference rival Wofford tomorrow. I enjoy playing Wofford and they play hard and make us earn all of our points. We will play them tomorrow and then turn around and play them in our first conference weekend, Sept. 26-27. This will give us a good opportunity to see what their strong points are and allow us to focus on certain aspects of their game for the following weekend.”
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will battle Hampton at 10:00 a.m. and South Carolina State at 1:00 p.m. Hampton enters the tournament with a 0-12 record, while South Carolina State comes into the weekend with a 1-10 record. Hampton has a slight lead over the Bulldogs in the series, having won four of their seven meetings. The Citadel has won nine of the 12 meetings that they have had with South Carolina State.
The Citadel comes into the tournament, 3-5, after defeating the Aggies of North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night at McAlister Field House. Coach Geiger and the Bulldogs are hoping to stay focused and are hoping to come away from the tournament with four victories.
“I hope we take the momentum from our win on Tuesday and carry it into this weekend,” said Geiger.
Match recaps and match statistics will be available immediately following each match. For more information on Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
