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By Compiled by ANTONYA ENGLISH
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000
WHEN/WHERE: Today-Sunday; Halton Arena, Charlotte, N.C.
TOURNAMENT FAVORITE: South Florida (25-4, 15-1) is the No. 1 seed. The Bulls are on a school-record 18-game winning streak and lost one conference game in the regular season for the fourth time in the past six years. The Bulls are led by sophomore outside hitter Michelle Collier, who is third in the nation in kills and second in the conference (average 6.20). Collier, sidelined most of last season with a torn ACL and MCL, was named the conference player of the year Wednesday and to the C-USA first team with senior middle blocker Rachelle Paul. Senior setter Melanie Mueller was named to the second team. For leading the Bulls' turnaround from a 15-18 record last season, second-year coach Nancy Mueller was named coach of the year.
TEAMS TO WATCH: Cincinnati, Louisville and DePaul have at least 20 wins; Houston has 19. Houston's Jennifer Wittenburg is second in the nation in kills (6.36). Cincinnati is the defending tournament champion. Houston has made the semifinals the past four seasons.
SCHEDULE: Today -- No. 9 Marquette (8-21, 6-10) vs. No. 8 Saint Louis (12-17, 6-10), 1 p.m.; No. 12 UAB (6-23, 0-16) vs No. 5 DePaul (20-11, 10-6), 3 p.m.; No. 11 Memphis (13-19, 3-13) vs. No. 6 Tulane (16-14, 8-8), 6 p.m.; No. 10 Southern Mississippi (12-18, 4-12),vs. No. 7 Charlotte (13-17, 7-9), 8 p.m. Friday -- Marquette/Saint Louis winner vs. No. 1 South Florida, 1 p.m.; UAB/DePaul winner vs. No. 4 Houston (19-8, 11-5), 3 p.m.; Memphis/Tulane winner vs. No. 3 Louisville (21-7, 12-4), 6 p.m.; Southern Miss/Charlotte winner vs. No. 2 Cincinnati (22-7, 14-2), 8 p.m. Saturday -- semifinals, 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday -- final, 2 p.m.