CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel volleyball team will play Furman in the first round of the Southern Conference Championships on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Bulldogs (8-24, 1-15 SoCon) last met up with Furman (10-18, 6-10 SoCon) on Oct. 16 when The Citadel won its lone conference match of the season and its first since 2011. The five-set victory over Furman was also the first in program history against the Paladins, breaking a string of 35 straight losses.

The Citadel enters the SoCon Championships having made four previous appearances in the tournament. Furman is the reigning SoCon tournament champions after defeating Chattanooga in the finals in 2015.

On Wednesday, outside hitter Moriah Smith was selected to the All-SoCon Second Team. The award is the first post-season recognition for a Bulldog volleyball player in program history.

Smith finished the regular season with 457 kills, the most in a single season in program history. In the SoCon, Smith ranks second in total kills and fourth in kills per set. She is also 10th in digs per set at 3.18, recording 379 total digs on the year.

Libero Samantha Espy has recorded 1,430 digs in her career. She is just 21 digs short of breaking Rachel Sanders' (2008-12) program record.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season with the second most digs in the conference with 1,957. They are also third in total service aces with 150, fourth in total assists with 1,329 and fifth in total kills with 1,405.

The Citadel will face Furman on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Central time. With a victory, they would advance to the quarterfinals to play No. 1 seed and regular season champions ETSU later that day at 2:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for the entirety of the SoCon Championships.

For more information on The Citadel volleyball follow @CitadelVB or visit CitadelSports.com.