HENDERSON, Tenn. - Although the chances of a fourth straight bid to the national tournament are slim, the Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions still have a chance to bring home a fourth straight TranSouth Conference Championship as they begin play in the conference tournament on Monday, Nov. 5.

Second-seeded FHU (13-11, 4-2) will face third-seeded Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College in the first round at 2:30 PM. The Lady Lions swept the regular season series between the two schools, once in four sets and once in straight sets.

Bethel (Tenn.) University is the No. 1 seed after going unbeaten in conference play. Mid-Continent (Ky.) University is the fourth seed. Freed-Hardeman's only conference losses came to Bethel, the second of which went to five sets at Bethel.

The Lady Lions should be well-prepared after taking on some of the NAIA's top teams at the Boneyard Brawl in Georgetown, Ky., on Oct. 26-27. FHU faced three top-15 teams in the event and defeated Taylor (Ind.) University, which was in the receiving votes category.

Freed-Hardeman's attack is led by two-time NAIA All-American Fernanda Ferreira, who averages 4.6 kills per set heading into the tournament. Freshman Allie Moss has emerged as a potent second option, averaging 3.5 kills per set. They are the only two FHU hitters that have recorded over 100 kills.

Senior Callie West is the defense's leader, posting 379 digs this season (4.2 per set). She also has 30 aces and a .910 service percentage.

FHU has won the last three and four out of the last five tournament championships. Only Lee (Tenn.) University, a former member of the conference, has more with six.

Lady Lion head coach Todd Humphry, who has coached the program to those four titles, likes his team's chances for a fifth this year.

"Our team has improved through the season and is ready for a chance to repeat," he said. "We are playing much better as a unit. The team chemistry as a whole is better."

Tournament Home | Live Stats