Eagle Volleyball Announces 2011 Season Schedule
4/6/2011 3:16:00 PM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. - After a successful 27-9 season that ended in a Southern Conference Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Georgia Southern Volleyball team announced a 2011 season schedule that includes four teams that also appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament.
"Ever since we got to Georgia Southern, we have been working on installing a veteran group of players, and we will see how the match up against a competitive schedule in the fall," said Head Coach Chad Callihan.
In 2010, the Eagles posted their highest winning percent in program history and tallied the most wins since the 1993 season when they went 28-13. Georgia Southern returns all four of its All-Southern Conference selections including first team selections Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) and Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.). Small appeared in all 36 matches last season, leading the team with 119 blocks and the SoCon with .375 hitting percentage. Van Dyke led the Southern Conference in assists a year ago and was one of two players to average over 10 a game.
The Eagles open the fall season at home with a tournament that includes a number of Western teams. GSU opens 2011 on August 26th against Stephen F. Austin and South Dakota State and concludes on Saturday with two games against Jacksonville and Montana State.
"It is always nice to start the season at home," Callihan said. "It allows you the opportunity to work out some kinks and early season jitters. We will open the year at Hanner Fieldhouse against some teams from outside the region."
Georgia Southern will hit the road following the first of two tournaments and will face Mercer on August 31st before traveling to Manhattan, Kan., for a three-game set with Kansas State, BYU and Idaho. The Eagles will return to the road the following weekend at North Carolina and will face the Tar Heels, Arizona State and San Diego in a tournament. UNC and the Toreros advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, while the Sun Devils just missed out on the field of 64.
"The Kansas State trip allows for Kate Van Dyke to play close to home, while the UNC trip will allow us to see where we are at early in the year," said Callihan. "We feel that when we play well, we can compete with anyone. Arizona State had some big wins in the Pac-10 last year and just missed out on the tournament."
Southern Conference play opens against Wofford on September 22nd at 6 p.m. GSU will face Furman on September 24th before traveling to Charleston, S.C. for two matches against the College of Charleston and The Citadel on September 30th and October 1st. The Eagles play four-straight conference home games against Samford (10-22), Chattanooga (10-23), Charleston (10-28) and The Citadel (10-29) before hitting the road for the remainder of the season.
"The Southern Conference keeps getting better every year and we expect our division to be strong as always. The College of Charleston, Furman, Wofford and The Citadel should all be very strong this year, while Samford will do some nice things on the court," said Callihan.
The 2011 Southern Conference Tournament will be held in Birmingham, Ala. on November 18th through the 20th a with Samford serving as the host school.
Click here to view the full 2011 Georgia Southern Volleyball schedule.
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