UCA VOLLEYBALL ANNOUNCES 2011 SCHEDULEQuote:
CONWAY, Ark. - Opponents from the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference and Big 12 highlight the 2011 University of Central Arkansas volleyball schedule, first-year head coach David McFatrich announced on Friday. The slate features 28 matches, including four matches against teams ranked in the top 65 in the NCAA RPI.
"We certainly have a very competitive schedule ahead of us this fall, but it is something we need to see how our young squad will measure up," said McFatrich.
The Sugar Bears return nine letterwinners, including five starters, from last year's 28-8 squad that ended the season ranked 68th.
The season will kick off at the University of Houston's tournament Aug. 26-27, where they will face the host Cougars, Atlantic Sun champion #65 Lipscomb, and Atlantic 10 runnerup #61 Xavier. The first weekend of September, the Sugar Bears will travel to Lubbock, Texas to face off against Texas Tech, UNLV and Morehead State.
The toughest weekend of the year will take place on Sept. 9-10 in Oxford, Miss. The Sugar Bears will face #25 Northwestern and #46 Ole Miss, both NCAA Tournament teams last season.
UCA will begin defending their back-to-back Southland Conference regular season titles on Sept. 16 at Northwestern State. While in Natchitoches, the Sugar Bears will also play Arkansas State and Alcorn State.
"It would have been nice to host a tournament during our pre-conference season," McFatrich said, "but that wasn't the hand were dealt this year so we will just make the most of it. In the future, we hope to have at least one tournament before conference begins. We are expecting both Ole Miss and Houston to play here in the next two seasons."
The only other non-conference opponent is Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Lady Lions will come to Conway on Oct. 4 for UCA's first home game. The Sugar Bears will travel to Pine Bluff on Oct. 19.
The first SLC matches in the Prince Center will be on Oct. 5 and 8, when the Sugar Bears will host Northwestern State and UT Arlington, respectively. UTSA, who defeated UCA twice last season, will come to Conway on Oct. 29.
In total, UCA will have nine regular season matches at home and will try to extend the nation's third-longest home winning streak of 30.
Central Arkansas will host the Southland Confernece Tournament on Nov. 18-20 in the Farris Center. The winner of the tournament receives the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament.