MOUNT PLEASANT — The Mid-American Conference has announced the seedings and released the bracket for the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The Central Michigan volleyball team will be the No. 6 seed and take on No. 3 seed rival Western Michigan in the opening round Friday afternoon at 1:30.
The Chippewas are the defending tournament champions after winning their first MAC title last season as the No. 6 seed. CMU will have a similiar path to the finals as last season having defeated Western Michigan in the first round, Ohio in the semifinals and Northern Illinois in the championship a year ago.
CMU finished the MAC regular season with a 9-7 record, its first winning record in conference play since 2008, while the Broncos won the MAC West with a 13-3 mark. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with each team winning at home.
Ohio will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed after winning the overall regular season conference title, while Bowling Green will be the No. 2 seed. Northern Illinois is the No. 4 seed, Akron the No. 5 seed, Eastern Michigan the No. 7 seed and Ball State the No. 8 seed.
Seven of the eight teams in the conference tournament finished the regular season at .500 or better in conference play, with the Cardinals as the only exception after they fell to the Chippewas Saturday night inside McGuirk Arena to finish 7-9.
Quarterfinals - Friday, November 16
Game 1: No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Akron - 11 AM
Game 2: No. 3 Western Michigan vs. No. 6 Central Michigan - 1:30 PM
Game 3: No. 1 Ohio vs. No. 8 Ball State - 4:30 PM
Game 4: No. 2 Bowling Green vs. No. 7 Eastern Michigan - 7 PM
Semifinals - Saturday, November 17
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner - 2:30 PM
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 5 PM
Championship - Sunday, November 18
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 1 PM
