By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State's volleyball team released its schedule for 2011 Monday morning. The Owls will play 14 matches at home and, for the first time in program history, host a pair of tournaments in the same season.
"The 2011 schedule is a great challenge for us," said KSU head coach Karen Weatherington. "The highlight of our campaign will be hosting 14 matches at home."
As has become tradition, the Owls will open the season on the road, this time in Boone, N.C. at the Appalachian Invitational. KSU will open the season August 26 at 4:30 p.m. against Charlotte, before Saturday's contests against host Appalachian State at 12:30 p.m. and Atlantic Coast Conference foe North Carolina State at 4:30 p.m.
"The tournament at Appalachian State features some vital regional match-ups," said coach Weatherington. "We want to do our part in all of these pre-season tournaments to raise the perception of our conference among the rest of the volleyball community."
Kennesaw State will open the home portion of its campaign Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. when it plays host to Winthrop in the second match of the 2011 Owls Invitational. KSU will then play one of its closer foes on the schedule as Chattanooga will take on KSU in a match at 10 a.m. Sept. 3. Later that evening, the Owls will close the tournament against Oral Roberts.
The following weekend, the Owls will host their second straight tournament as Eastern Kentucky, Troy and UAB visit for the 2011 Owls Classic. KSU begins play in the tournament Sept. 9 against EKU at 7 p.m., before battling Troy at 10 a.m. Sept. 10 and UAB to close the tournament at 7 p.m.
"I think it's a very nice step in the growth of the program for us to be able to host two tournaments," said coach Weatherington. "We've been fortunate enough to host at least one tournament each of the last three seasons, but to add a second tournament and have a high number of teams that are willing to come here to play shows how far we've come as a program."
After a home contest against metro Atlanta rival Georgia State Sept. 13, the Owls will travel to Denton, Texas for the Mean Green Invitational hosted by North Texas. The Owls will play Texas State on Sept. 16, then face Jackson State and host UNT on Sept. 17.
Atlantic Sun Conference play will open at home for the Owls on Sept. 23 as the Black and Gold faces Belmont at 7 p.m. Unlike last season, where teams played each other only one time during the conference season, A-Sun teams will now play four opponents twice and the other six opponents once. The conference opener will also be a rematch of one of the most memorable wins from 2010 for the Owls, as KSU defeated Belmont in five sets last season in Nashville after dropping the first two sets.
The second A-Sun match on the schedule will be Sept. 24 when defending A-Sun champion Lipscomb visits the KSU Convocation Center. The Bisons will enter the season having won over 30 conference matches in a row.
KSU's first road trip in conference play will be to Jacksonville, Fla. to face North Florida and Jacksonville Sept. 30 - Oct. 1. A homestand against Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast Oct. 7-8 preceeds one of the stranger quirks in the schedule. The Owls will travel to face USC Upstate and East Tennessee State Oct. 21-22. The following weekend, ETSU and USC Upstate will return the trip to the Convocation Center. KSU plays the Bucs in Johnson City, Tenn., Oct. 22, then faces ETSU at the Convocation Center Oct. 28.
A trip to Nashville begins the November portion of the schedule as the Owls will face Lipscomb and Belmont Nov. 4-5. A home match with Mercer Nov. 12 will bring a close to the regular season before the A-Sun Championships Nov. 17-19 on the campus of Lipscomb.
"Overall, the A-Sun will be the best test of our progress as a program," said coach Weatherington. "The young faces that made a significant impact on the league last season will be back with more experience. The A-Sun just keeps getting better and better and we have set our goals to high to stay at the top."
The Owls finished A-Sun play last season with a record of 9-1 in conference play, setting a program mark for conference winning percentage. The team finished in second place in the A-Sun standings.
