NEWBERG, Ore. -- After the most successful season in recent memory, the George Fox volleyball team will compete in the first-ever Northwest Conference volleyball tournament this weekend.  

Fox will play the Whitworth Pirates on Friday night  at 7:30 pm, in the semifinal game.  The winner will take on either Pacific Lutheran or Willamette in the tournament championship match on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.

The Bruins, who finished their season with an 11-5 conference record — the most wins in head coach Emily Davis' tenure — qualify for the tournament as the third seed. For Fox's head coach, the NWC Tourney has been a long time coming.

"I've been waiting 7 years for this conference tournament," Davis said, "It's so nice to have a way to really compete at the end of the season. It will be a great showcase of talent all around."

In the regular season, the Bruins faced second-seeded Whitworth (12-4 NWC) twice: once in Spokane and once in Newberg. The home team won in both cases, with Fox winning in Newberg, 3-2, and the Pirates victorious in Spokane, 3-0.

Now, the two teams duel it out in Tacoma, Wash. at the campus of Pacific Lutheran; the Lutes (16-0 NWC) finished the season undefeated. Fourth-seeded Willamette (9-7 NWC) rounds out the four teams to qualify for the inaugural tournament and fight for an NCAA bid. 

It's been a banner season for Bruins — with two NWC Student-Athlete of the Week winners (Kassandra Mendenhall, Piper Harrop), a third-place finish in the conference, and wins over usual powerhouses Puget Sound and Whitworth — all that's left for the team to do is make history.

"For us, I hope we play with excellence and leave it all out there, no matter what happens," Davis said, "It should be a very fun weekend."

Live stats and live stream information will be available on the GFU Athletics website. Tickets can be purchased at link.