A season-opening trip to Texas, a pair of crossover series against the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and a total of 12 matches against schools that qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament highlight the 2007 IUP volleyball schedule.

IUP is seeking its eighth straight trip to the NCAA tournament after a 16-14 season a year ago in Zach Shaver’s first season at the helm.

The Crimson Hawks begin the season Aug. 24-25 by traveling to San Antonio for the Texas Med Clinic/ St. Mary’s Invitational.  In the first match, IUP will take on a Central Missouri State team that finished the 2006 campaign with a record of 29-7, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and was ranked 17^th in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

IUP returns to Pennsylvania on Aug. 29 to face Mercyhurst from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a league that placed three teams in the AVCA Top 25 last season. 

IUP then opens its home season Aug. 31-Sept. 1 with matches against Adelphi, Georgian Court, Salem International and Pitt Johnstown in the inaugural Crimson Hawk/Best Western Invitational at Memorial Field House.  Georgian Court was an NCAA tournament qualifier in 2006.

Home matches against Fairmont State, West Virginia Wesleyan and Seton Hill on Sept. 7-8 comprise the first PSAC/WVIAC crossover weekend.  The second takes place Oct. 5-6 when the Crimson Hawks travel to Wheeling, W.Va., to face NCAA tournament participant West Virginia State along with Alderson-Broaddus, Wheeling Jesuit and Charleston.

The PSAC West schedule includes series against Lock Haven, Clarion, Slippery Rock and California, each of which played in the NCAA tournament last year, with Lock Haven winning 32 matches, taking the region crown and advancing to the Elite Eight while finishing 21^st in the AVAC poll.  IUP also plays a full schedule of matches against the PSAC East, including a date with postseason qualifier Kutztown.

“We are excited about the 2007 schedule.  Quality preparation will be extremely important because we play nine matches in the first eight days of the season, including high caliber competition in San Antonio,” said Shaver. 

“The schedule was developed with the mind set of competing against high level opponents in order to prepare the team for the tough PSAC schedule.  The non-conference opponents that we will face throughout the season along with our PSAC West foes will be a challenge for our program and hopefully help us achieve our goals of returning to the top of the division and the NCAA tournament.”

<back to top>