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The Lee volleyball team is preparing for their first tournament action of the year as they host their annual Lee Invitational this Friday and Saturday in Walker Arena.

The Lady Flames will welcome four other clubs to the sport court this weekend. NCAA Division II members Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) will be a part of the field as well as familiar NAIA competition in Campbellsville (Ky.) and Bryan College.

What to Watch For
The tournament kicks off on Friday morning (10:00 a.m.) as Kentucky Wesleyan takes on Bryan College. The Panthers enter with a 3-3 mark and are coming off a straight set victory over Brescia. The Lions have started off hot as they sit at 9-3 overall and are riding an eight-match winning streak.

Campbellsville enters on a bit of down note starting out just 5-11 on the season. Last year the Tigers battled Lee twice, losing in the regular season in five-sets before dropping the NCCAA Mid-East Region championship to the Lady Flames in four sets.

Southern Wesleyan has won three straight matches without dropping a single set as they sit at 9-3 on the year.  The Warriors are paced by Cherilyn Ramsey with 115 kills while Megan Widener sets up the offense tallying 375 assists.

Defending the Home Court
The Lady Flames (3-4) will look to continue their solid play in front of the home crowd this weekend. Dating back to last season Lee has gone 19-3 on the sport court in Walker Arena. Coach Andrea Hudson's club enters their home tournament coming off a five-set victory over West Georgia on Tuesday evening.

"We're really excited about the invitational this weekend. We love playing at home and being in front of our home fans," said senior captain Lauren Williams. "The fans are great and we get hyped up to play in front of them. We're hoping to play well this weekend."

Leading the way for Lee is sophomore Erin Hill with 70 kills and 136 assists. Senior Patty Orozco has registered 65 slams on the year and junior Stephanie Hernandez anchors the defense with 93 digs. The team has been jump started by the return of Williams who missed the first three matches after suffering a preseason injury. Lee has won 3-of-4 since her return to the lineup.

The Lady Flames will open things up on Friday afternoon when they square off with Kentucky Wesleyan at 2:30 p.m. before testing Campbellsville in the Day 1 finale at 7 p.m.

Don't Miss Any of the Action
Fans that are unable to attend the tournament will still have opportunities to follow all of the action at Walker Arena this weekend. The Lady Flames' matches with Kentucky Wesleyan (Fri. 2:30 p.m.) and Southern Wesleyan (Sat. 2:00 p.m.) will be live streamed at http://new.livestream.com/goleeflames.

All 10 matches of the invitational will feature live stats. Fans can follow along at http://www.sidearmstats.com/leeuniversity/wvball/

Tournament Schedule
Friday September 26
10:00 a.m.                                                           Kentucky Wesleyan vs. Bryan
12:15 p.m.                                                           Southern Wesleyan vs. Campbellsville
2:30 p.m.                                                             Kentucky Wesleyan vs. Lee University
4:45 p.m.                                                             Bryan vs. Southern Wesleyan
7:00 p.m.                                                             Campbellsville vs. Lee University
 
Saturday September 27 
9:30 a.m.                                                              Kentucky Wesleyan vs. Southern Wesleyan
11:45 a.m.                                                           Bryan vs. Campbellsville
2:00 p.m.                                                             Southern Wesleyan vs. Lee University
4:15 p.m.                                                             Kentucky Wesleyan vs. Campbellsville
6:30 p.m.                                                             Bryan vs. Lee University