(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The teams are now set for the 2017 Subway AUS Women's Volleyball Championship being hosted March 3-4 by Saint Mary's University.
This season, the conference moved to a four-team playoff format. Two semifinal matchups will be played Friday, March 3, with the top-seeded team facing the fourth-seeded team at 4:30 p.m. and the second and third-seeded teams facing one another at 7 p.m.
The Dalhousie Tigers, Memorial Sea-Hawks, Saint Mary's Huskies and Moncton Aigles Bleues have clinched the four 2017 playoff berths.
Dalhousie Tigers
Led by head coach Rick Scott, in his ninth season at the helm of the program, the four-time defending AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers have clinched first place in the AUS standings with a 16-1 record so far this season.
Their lone regular season loss came at the hands of the Memorial Sea-Hawks this past Saturday in St. John's, N.L. The Tigers will be the top-seeded team at this year's championship.
The Dalhousie squad returned 2016 AUS first team all-stars Abby Czenze and Anna Dunn-Suen this season, as well as 2016 second team all-stars Mieke DuMont and Marisa Mota.
Mota leads the Tigers and sits second in the AUS in digs so far this season, averaging 5.36 per set.
2016 AUS all-rookie Courtney Baker has been a force for the Tigers this season. She leads Dalhousie and is second in the conference in points, averaging 3.5 per set, and in service aces with 23 so far this season. Baker also leads the Tigers and sits third in the AUS in kills, averaging 2.75 per set.
Dalhousie will wrap up regular season play with two games at home this weekend versus Moncton and Saint Mary's, and one final away game Sunday, Feb. 19 at Acadia.
Memorial Sea-Hawks
In his third year as head coach, 2016 AUS coach of the year John Slauenwhite has led Memorial to a 12-5 record so far this regular season.
The Sea-Hawks will look to build on last season's success after falling 3-1 to Dalhousie in the 2016 championship final.
2016 AUS MVP Jill Snow leads the conference in nearly every statistical category again this season. She currently sits first in points (4.0 per set), kills (3.38 per set) and service aces (0.43 per set).
The Sea-Hawks returned both 2016 AUS rookie of the year and second team all-star Kierstin Fey, as well as 2016 second team all-star Maiya Westwood this season. Westwood leads the conference in assists and sits second in assists per set this season, averaging 9.29.
The Memorial squad will wrap up regular season play with three away games versus the Moncton Aigles Bleues Feb. 17-19.
Saint Mary's Huskies
The championship host Saint Mary's Huskies have posted a 10-7 record so far this regular season. They have clinched a playoff berth and currently sit third in the AUS standings. The Huskies are led by Coach Darren Russell, currently in his eighth season as head coach.
Last season, Saint Mary's downed Moncton in the championship quarterfinals, but were put out by Dalhousie in the semi-final round.
The Huskies returned 2016 AUS first team all-star Erin Smith this season. She leads Saint Mary's in points so far this season, averaging 3.3 per set.
The team will finish out the regular season with three away games at Acadia, Dalhousie and UNB.
Moncton Aigles Bleues
With a 7-8 regular season record so far this season, head coach Monette Boudreau-Carroll and her Moncton Aigles Bleues team have captured the fourth and final playoff berth.
The Moncton squad returned 2016 AUS second team all-stars Christelle Bertin, Alyssa Turenne and Rachelle Lemoine this season.
Bertin leads the Aigles Bleues and sits second in the conference in kills so far this season, averaging 2.84 per set. She also leads Moncton and is third in the AUS in points, averging 3.3 per set.
The Aigles Bleues will look to improve upon their 2016 postseason performance when they were ousted 3-2 by Saint Mary's in the quarter-final round.
They have five games left to play in the regular season. They are set to visit Dalhousie Feb. 10 and UNB Feb. 12. They then play host to the Memorial Sea-Hawks for three games the following weekend to wrap up the regular season.
For more information on the 2017 Subway AUS Women's Volleyball Championship, please click here.