ODAC Volleyball Tournament begins tonight, two Botetourt women are key to Roanoke team

The first spring ODAC volleyball season enters its postseason week with the return of a familiar school headlining the championship field with 16-time ODAC champion Washington and Lee University perched atop the eight-team bracket. The Generals completed their regular season slate at 13-0 overall and 11-0 in conference play to earn top-billing in the ODAC Tournament.

The final day of competition determined much of the tournament bracket, including which teams would occupy the top four positions and host midweek quarterfinal matches. Joining Washington and Lee in that group are defending ODAC champion Virginia Wesleyan University, which will defend its crown as the #2 seed following a win over Guilford College on Sunday afternoon. The University of Lynchburg fell to Washington and Lee on the regular season’s final day, which slotted the Hornets third in the field. Roanoke College enters as the fourth seed.

Bridgewater College, which like Roanoke was idle on Sunday, earned the fifth seed and will head to Salem to square off with the Maroons in the quarters. Randolph-Macon College, which also would have been a recognizable name at the top of the field after holding the #1 seed for six consecutive seasons, will play as the sixth seed this spring. They make the trip to Lynchburg for quarterfinal play.

Shenandoah University and Eastern Mennonite College both won on Sunday to secure the seventh and eighth positions in the field. SU travels to Virginia Wesleyan for its opening contest, while EMU, which was on the outside looking in before its 3-2 triumph at R-MC on Sunday, takes a quick bus trip down I-81 to Lexington for a date with the Generals.

The tournament begins on Wednesday, April 28. The highest remaining seed will host the semifinals and championship on Saturday, May 1.