Southern Conference moves volleyball championships from Asheville as area continues Helene recovery

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — The Southern Conference has moved its volleyball tournament championship from storm-ravaged Asheville, North Carolina, as the area continues recovering from Hurricane Helene.

The Division I league said Tuesday it would hold its tournament in Spartanburg on the campus of Wofford College. The event takes place Nov. 21-24 with the champion gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

League commissioner Michael Cross said he had heard from Asheville officials and tournament organizers in the North Carolina mountains that it was in the best interest to move the event “to allow Asheville time to recover."

Helene made landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast last month then moved through several Southeastern states and left a trail of destruction for hundreds of miles. At least 246 people have died in what is now the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina, according to statistics from the National Hurricane Center.

The conference said all tickets sold for the Asheville facility will be honored at Wofford.

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The Associated Press