Miami Volleyball Announces 2008 Schedule
May 27, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Six matches against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants, an early season home tournament and five home Atlantic Coast Conference matches in the month of October highlight the 2008 University of Miami volleyball schedule, as announced by head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes will open the season on the road in San Marcos, Texas at Texas State University’s CenturyTel Premier Tournament, August 29-30, at the Strahan Coliseum. The field will feature a pair of 2007 NCAA Tournament participants in host Texas State and Sacramento State, in addition to UT-Pan American and Louisiana-Monroe. The Hurricanes will take on SSU and TSU on the first day of the tournament and UTPA and ULM the second day.
The following week, UM will open its home slate when it plays host to Alabama, VCU and Tennessee State at the Eighth Annual Hurricane Invitational, Sept. 5-6, at the Knight Sports Complex. The six match round robin-style tournament will begin Friday at 4 p.m. and feature six matches over the course of two days. The Hurricanes will face VCU on Friday night at 7 p.m. before playing TSU and Alabama on Saturday.
Miami will then head to San Francisco, Calif. to play in its third tournament of the fall, Sept. 12-13, at the University of San Francisco’s War Memorial Gym. The Hurricanes will take on Villanova Friday, Sept. 12 before taking on Sacramento State and host San Francisco in a double-header Saturday, Sept. 13.
For the third straight season, UM will open conference play against in-state rival Florida State. The Hurricanes and the Seminoles will square off Friday, Sept. 19 in Coral Gables before UM makes the short trip to Boca Raton the next day for a double-header against Salem State and host Florida Atlantic at the FAU Arena, Sept. 20.
ACC play picks back up for Miami the following week when the team makes its first of two trips to the state of North Carolina when it plays at Duke and at Wake Forest, Thursday, Sept. 25 and Friday, Sept. 26. The `Canes will remain on the road the following week when they travel to Clemson Friday, Oct. 3 to take on the Tigers before making the short trip southwest to Atlanta the next day to battle Georgia Tech Saturday, Oct. 4.
After a six-match road swing, UM will play at the Knight Sports Complex three of the next four weekends. The Hurricanes have four-straight home matches when they play host to Boston College (Oct. 10), Maryland (Oct. 12), NC State (Oct. 17) and North Carolina (Oct. 18) in a span of nine days. Miami will make a quick road trip to the state of Virginia to take on Virginia and Virginia Tech, Oct. 24 and 25 before returning home to face Duke Friday, Oct. 31 and Wake Forest Sunday, Nov. 2.
UM will close out its regular season slate with five of its final seven matches on the road. The `Canes will head to Maryland Nov. 7 and Boston College Nov. 9 before its final home weekend when they play host to Georgia Tech Friday, Nov. 14 and Clemson Sunday, Nov. 16. The team’s second trip to North Carolina will come the following weekend when UM plays at UNC (Nov. 20) and at NC State (Nov. 21) before wrapping up its regular season the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, Nov. 26 at FSU.
The first two rounds of the 2008 NCAA Tournament are slated for the weekend of Dec. 4-6. Regional play will follow at selected sites on Dec. 12 before the NCAA Semifinals and Finals will take place Dec. 18-20 in Omaha, Neb.
Prior to the start of the regular season, Miami will host its Fourth Annual Alumni Match on Aug. 23 at the Knight Sports Complex, pitting former UM stars against the current Hurricanes in an exhibition contest.
The Hurricanes, coming off a 14-17 campaign in 2007, return 10 letterwinners, including seven of their top eight offensive players, their top defensive player in Cassie Loessberg and All-ACC freshman setter Katie Gallagher. Signees Lane Carico, a Mizuno/Volleyball All-American from Manhattan Beach, Calif. and Ali Becker, a middle blocker from Katy, Texas, will also join the team when fall practice starts up in early August.
