Charlotte opens its 2005 season on August 28. |
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49er Volleyball Announces 2005 Schedule
May 20, 2005
Charlotte, N.C. - Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston announced today that the 49ers volleyball team will play a 32-match schedule in 2005, including 18 at Halton Arena, in their first season as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
"I am excited about starting our season with such formidable competition," said sixth-year head coach Lisa Marston. "Playing teams in the SEC and ACC are obvious tough matches that will challenge us both physically and mentally. And, playing programs that have either won their conferences or posted a strong RPI and W-L records should prepare us well for our first season in the A10. I am excited to see how we fare!"
The 49ers return the bulk of their team from 2004, including potential preseason all-conference players Abbey Szlanfucht, Lisa Newell, and Jessica Oldenburg. The trio led Charlotte to 19 wins a year ago, an 11-win turnaround from the 2003 campaign that made the 49ers one of the nation's most-improved teams.
"In general, I wanted the 2005 schedule to reflect the fact that we are a very strong program. We have our top point-getters in the junior and senior class. Our experience should be an asset. I wanted to play a tough non-conference schedule so that we could be prepared to compete at the high level that the A10 provides. I'm happy to say that this schedule is exactly what I envisioned."
Non-Conference Schedule
The season begins with a match at the University of Georgia, which finished 18-12 last season and posted an 11-3 mark in Athens. The team lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
The 49ers return home for four straight matches. UW-Milwaukee (19-8, 13-1 Horizon Conference) comes to town for a single match, before Charlotte hosts the first of two home tournaments: the SpringHill Suites Invitational. That event will feature Middle Tennessee State (17-14), UT-San Antonio (16-16, 12-8 Southland Conference), and Delaware (23-9).
Charlotte then faces five straight road matches, beginning with a date at South Carolina (12-15). The Gamecocks started last season 7-2 before entering the heady competition of SEC play. The team then travels to Durham, N.C. for the Duke Tournament, which features the host Blue Devils (20-10, 10-6 ACC), SMU (14-14), and Cornell. The Big Red finished 17-9, including a 10-4 mark in the Ivy League to capture their first co-championship in 11 years.
The 49ers wrap up that road swing with a match at nearby Appalachian, which finished 26-8 last season and won the Southern Conference North Division championship with a 10-6 mark. The 49ers defeated the Mountaineers, 3 games to 2, in the championship of last season's SpringHill Suites Classic at Halton Arena.
Speaking of the SpringHill Suites Classic, the 49ers will once again host that tournament at Halton Arena on Sept. 16-17. The two-day event features four other teams: Loyola (Md.), Winthrop, North Texas, and Davidson. Regional rival Winthrop had a banner year in 2004, finishing 31-4 and capturing their third straight Big South Championship and a NCAA berth with a 14-0 league mark. The 49ers lost to the Eagles, 3-1, late last season. Davidson finished 10-23 and lost in the SoCon Tournament quarterfinals. Loyola College rebounded from an 0-6 start to post a 10-18 record overall, and North Texas finished 7-23 but nearly upset the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Also on the non-conference slate later in the season are regional matches with Gardner-Webb, Elon, North Carolina A&T, Liberty, and former C-USA rival East Carolina.
Atlantic 10 Conference Schedule
2005 will mark the inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 Conference for Charlotte in all sports. The 49er volleyball team will face each of the other nine A10 teams at least once, with home-and-home series against four of them for a total of 13 conference matches.
Charlotte will play Temple, La Salle, Fordham and George Washington twice, while facing Dayton, Xavier, Duquesne, Saint Louis and Rhode Island only once apiece.
"The A10 schedule is arranged in geographical divisions," said Marston. "Therefore, we only have one chance to compete with certain teams. Three of the top four teams from last year's season are in the opposite division, so we only get one shot to prove ourselves. I am looking forward to competing in this strong conference."
The 49ers first-ever A10 match will come on the road in Dayton, Ohio. The Flyers won a share of the regular-season title with a 12-2 league mark last season, and captured the A10 Tournament title and automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. Dayton finished with a 23-9 record overall, but lost the league's player of the year to graduation.
Charlotte will face the league's other co-champion on the same weekend swing. Xavier, with a 12-2 mark, tied for the regular season title and finished 20-10 overall. They lost the league's setter of the year to graduation.
Temple has the league's reigning Rookie of the Year, Tian Jing, and finished third in the league standings with an 11-3 mark (14-17 overall). Charlotte will play them both in Philadelphia and at Halton Arena.
La Salle is another two-time opponent, and finished at the bottom of the A10 standings with a 1-13 A10 record (8-25 overall).
Fordham will be a home-and-home series as well. The Rams were 14-16 and finished sixth in the conference in 2004.
George Washington is the last two-time A10 opponent. They were seventh in the league standings at 3-11 (7-23 overall).
Duquesne finished last season 15-16, and fourth in the A10 with a 7-7 mark. They made their first appearance in the A10 Tournament since the league adopted a four-team format in 1995. Like the Dukes, Rhode Island (9-17, 4-10) will also only travel to Charlotte. The same goes for former C-USA rival Saint Louis, which returns an honorable mention All-American from a 15-17 (6-7) team.
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