LEXINGTON, Ky. - Spring Hill College has been selected as the No. 2 overall seed for this week's 2019 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Small College Beach Championship, to be played April 19-21 at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, Florida.

"Obviously we're excited to be the number two seed overall. With that being said, I believe there are several teams that could be seeded just as high. With many teams not being able to play each other over the course of the season it had to have been a difficult task," said Shawn Taylor, head coach of the SHC beach volleyball program. "It's clear the AVCA has put a lot of thought into the schedule, and I believe the format will allow the team that is playing the best volleyball over the three day span will ultimately come out on top."

Spring Hill (14-10) will be the No. 2 overall seed and top seed in Pool B in the NCAA Division II/Division III bracket. Fifth-seed Florida Southern College (11-12), No. 8 seed Lincoln Memorial University (5-8) and No. 11 seed Carson-Newman University (2-21) will join SHC in Pool B.

Defending champion Texas A&M Kingsville (13-12) is the No. 1 overall seed and will be joined in Pool A by No. 6 Saint Leo (8-11), No. 7 Stevenson (9-7) and No. 12 Eckerd College (1-17). Pool C is led by third-seed Tampa (13-10), followed by No. 4 Colorado Mesa (3-8), No. 9 Tusculum (7-11)  and No. 10 Principia (5-10).

Spring Hill opened the 2019 season with a seven-match win streak and won 12 of its first 14 matches. The last month has been a gauntlet though, going 2-8 on the road, including a pair of tournaments hosted by NCAA Division I fourth-ranked LSU.

"I like the way our team concluded the regular season. We didn't get the results we were hoping for down the stretch but I do feel like we were making great effort and in a much better rhythm.  That will be our focus this week," Taylor said. "If we can stay loose, enjoy the journey, and apply a little of what we've learned over the course of the season, I think we can be in the hunt for both the team and the "Best of the Rest" championships."

In addition to the team championship, AVCA has formed a "Best of the Rest" competition for the best players not in each team's top five pairs. Substitutions to the team roster during the team tournament are only allowed in the case of severe illness or injury. Taylor is hopeful the "Best of the Rest" will be an opportunity to display his program's depth. Pairings for the competition will be drawn Thursday, April 18 at the tournament banquet.

"With the growth and depth of our program, I feel pretty confident that we can go beyond 10 players while still competing at a high level," Taylor said.    
 
AVCA SMALL COLLEGE BEACH VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

SPRING HILL SCHEDULE at AVCA
All times are EDT

Friday, April 19 - Pool Play
9 a.m. vs Lincoln Memorial
12 p.m. vs Carson Newman
4 p.m. vs Florida Southern

Saturday, April 20 - Challenge Round
vs TBD
vs TBD

Sunday 4/21
vs TBD
vs TBD