TicketsMay 20, 2011
CINCINNATI - Head Coach Reed Sunahara and the University of Cincinnati women's volleyball team have released the 2011 schedule. The season is highlighted by the Bearcats' matchups against 10 different teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, including six that finished in the Top 25.
Fresh off a successful 30-6 2010 campaign, Cincinnati opens the 2011 season August 26-27 at the Northern Illinois tournament in DeKalb, Ill., where they will face off against nationally-ranked Iowa State and Northern Iowa, IUPUI, and host Northern Illinois. The team will go to Lexington a few days later for a mid-week match on August 30 against the Wildcats of Kentucky, a 2010 NCAA participant.
The Bearcats will then travel west Sept. 2-3 for a tournament in Denton, Texas, where they will take on host North Texas, Sam Houston State, and nationally-ranked Oklahoma. The westward trip will continue as the team gets on a plane and heads right to Sunahara and sophomore Juliana Behrens' home state of Hawaii. In Honolulu, the Rainbow Classic will feature Pacific, Rice, and the Rainbow Wahine of Hawaii (the fourth nationally ranked team on the schedule) from Sept. 8 -10.
The next weekend, Cincinnati will participate in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in Champaign, Ill. Cincinnati will face Illinois and Purdue of the Big Ten on Sept. 16 and 17, respectively. After the team gets back, Evansville will come to Varsity Village for a Tuesday match on Sept. 20.
"This preseason schedule is going to be tough. It will give us a chance to find out where we are as a team. As challenging as it will be, I believe this will be a great indication of how well we trained the girls in the preseason and the off season," says Sunahara.
Conference play will once again consist of 14 matches. The first two BIG EAST matches will be at home against UConn (Oct.23) at 7:30 p.m. and St. John's (Oct. 25) at 2 p.m. October will begin with five road matches. The first trip will be to Indiana and Illinois, as the Bearcats take on Notre Dame on Oct. 1 and DePaul on Oct. 2, with both games at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 and 9 will feature a trip east to take on Rutgers and Seton Hall at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The BIG EAST schedule is highlighted by NCAA 2010 tournament participant Louisville (Oct. 14). UC will get a break from conference play when Sun Belt foe Western Kentucky (Oct. 18) comes to Fifth Third Arena at 7:30 p.m. It's back to league play on Oct. 22 and 23, when Pitt and West Virginia come to Fifth Third Arena, both at 2 p.m. Crosstown rival Xavier will also make an appearance in Fifth Third Arena on Oct. 25.
The Bearcats will travel south at the end of the month for a match against USF at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 feature two matches at 2 p.m. against Marquette and Syracuse at home. The conference season comes to an end on the road for the Bearcats as they take on Georgetown and Villanova Nov. 11 and Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
"The conference is now as strong as it's ever been, top to bottom," Sunahara said. "Every team will be another obstacle standing in our way of the conference championship."
The BIG EAST Championships will be hosted by Marquette in Milwaukee, Wisc., November 18-20. Following the tournament, the Bearcats will take on Ohio on Nov. 25 with a date against Miami (OH) on Nov. 26, both at home.