TicketsCINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team released its 2022 competition schedule on Tuesday. The season will begin on Aug. 26 and run until the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, which begins on Dec. 17.
Head Coach Molly Alvey is looking forward to this year: "What an exciting schedule for our program to be playing this season. We will be competing against some other fantastic volleyball programs which will prepare us for conference and postseason play. I know our team is looking forward to playing this lineup of opponents. Our opening tournament will be an exciting one for all of our fans and families."
The Bearcats kick off the season with a home tournament at Fifth Third Arena from Aug. 26-28. The three opponents, Illinois State, Dayton and Florida State, all had appearances in last year's NCAA Tournament. Following the conclusion of the 2021 season FSU had an RPI ranking at 20, Dayton at 37 and Illinois State at 64.
Next, UC will participate in a tournament at BYU, traveling to Provo, Utah, to compete at the future Big 12 opponent's home facility against the host-Cougars, Pittsburgh and Utah State. At this tournament the Bearcats will face Pitt for the first time in a regular season match since defeating the Panthers 3-2 in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers finished the 2021 season ranked No. 3 in the RPI rankings. BYU, another top-ranked opponent, finished the 2021 campaign at 15 in the RPI rankings. Utah State finished the 2021 season at 22-9.
The third weekend of play, the Bearcats will head to South Carolina for back-to-back matches against the Gamecocks, who have appeared in the last three NCAA tournaments and head into the fall fresh off a final RPI ranking of 41 in 2021.
Rivalry weekend will take place Sept. 16-17 and will consist of a home match versus Miami (Ohio) at 6 p.m. on Sept. 16 and an away match at Xavier at 6 p.m. on Sept. 17.
American Athletic Conference play will begin on Sept. 23 in New Orleans versus Tulane. Highlighting the Bearcats' conference slate will be matchups with defending league champions and 2021 NCAA Tournament participants, UCF. The Bearcats will host the Knights in the Queen City on Oct. 21 and travel to Orlando on Nov. 13 as part of a Florida road trip that will include a match against USF on Nov. 11.
UC will close out the regular season with conference matches against East Carolina (Nov. 25) and Temple (Nov. 26).
View the full schedule HERE and stay tuned for updates on special events throughout the season.
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