Courtesy: Wofford Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Thirty regular season matches, 11 home dates and four non-conference tournaments, including one in the confines of Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, highlight the 2018 volleyball schedule, as announced by head coach Lynze Roos on Thursday.
Wofford kicks off the season on Aug. 24 at the Boilermaker Invitational hosted by Purdue. The Aug. 24 meeting will be the first between the Terriers and Boilermakers. Wofford continues play in the tournament with a match against Tulsa later that afternoon before a showdown with Bowling Green the next day. The meetings with the Golden Hurricanes and the Falcons with also be firsts for the Wofford program.
“Opening up in the Big Ten and against Purdue will be an outstanding experience for our players,” noted Roos. “Not only do so many of our Midwestern players have the opportunity to play close to home, but the volleyball atmosphere in West Lafayette will allow us to prepare for playing on the road the following two weekends. We look forward to matching up against the Boilermakers, as they are one of the most well respected programs in the country – as well as two other strong programs with Bowling Green and Tulsa.”
Next, the Terriers continue tournament play in the Hyatt Regency Tournament, hosted by Georgia Tech, Aug. 30-31. The Terriers have matches against Tulane and Georgia Tech on the 30th and take on Alabama State and South Alabama on Aug. 31. The Terriers have never matched up with the Green Wave or the Yellow Jackets, while it’s been since 2011 and 2003, respectively, since Wofford has squared off against Alabama State and South Alabama.
“The Georgia Tech Tournament allows us stay a little closer to home and battle with some regional teams that have had some tremendous success,” said Roos.
Two more tournaments follow for the Terriers. Wofford heads to Orlando to participate in the UCF Challenge, hosted by Central Florida on Sept. 7-8. Roos’ squad opens the tournament with Illinois-Chicago and Florida International on the 7th and then play the host school on Sept. 8 to conclude play. All three meetings will be first between the programs.
“It will be another great experience for our team to travel to UCF, returning so many of our players to their home state of Florida, said Roos. “We will face some heavy competition there, and we hope that we are growing with each match early in the season.”
The Terriers head to Clinton, S.C. on Sept. 11 for a non-conference match with Presbyterian.
“We look forward to traveling down to Presbyterian for a midweek match up,” Roos added. “Our two teams have been competing for a number of years and several of our players have played against each other since high school. We hope to carry over on some of the lessons we may have learned in the opening three weekends.”
Wofford’s tournament schedule concludes by hosting on Sept. 14-15 when Wofford hosts a tournament, Wofford’s first home tournament since the 2014 season. The Terriers will welcome North Carolina A&T, Middle Tennessee State, and Gardner-Webb to Richardson Indoor for the two day event.
“Since calling the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium home this past season, we had hoped to have the stars align to host a preseason tournament, noted Roos. “ This year, it works well with our academic calendar, so we are thrilled to welcome teams and fans into this amazing facility and compete on the main arena floor. Middle Tennessee State is building a strong culture, and NC A&T has had a string of strong finishes in the MEAC and will be a tough test. Gardner-Webb will be adding some strong talent this fall, so they will be another formidable opponent heading into the SoCon season.”
Wofford’s conference tilt gets underway Sept. 21 at Chattanooga. The Terriers remain on the road to face Samford a day later, before returning home for the next two. Wofford opens the home portion of the conference schedule Sept. 28 against The Citadel and remain at home, hosting Mercer a day later.
The Terriers head back on the road for meetings with ETSU (Oct. 5) and Western Carolina (Oct. 6) then return home for the next four, Wofford’s longest homestand of the season. The homestand kicks off against Furman on Oct. 10. Three days later UNCG comes to town, and the Terriers then host Chattanooga (Oct. 19) and Samford (Oct. 20) on homecoming weekend.
“Once the SoCon season kicks off, it will be a non-stop sprint to Greensboro,” Roos added. “Each match will be key for us to not only compete, but improve so we are ready for November.”
The Terriers make the road swing to Mercer and The Citadel on Oct. 26 and 27th, respectively, and then return home for the final two home matches of the season. Wofford hosts Western Carolina on Nov. 2 then hosts ETSU, the defending SoCon champions, for senior day on Nov. 3.
The Terriers conclude the regular season with two road matches. First, Wofford travels to Greenville for a showdown with Furman (Nov. 7) and then heads to Greensboro two days later to face UNCG. A week later, Wofford returns to Greensboro for the Southern Conference tournament.
“After having a taste of the championship experience this past year, our team will be looking to get over that final hump at the tournament,” noted Roos.
In 2017, Roos’ third season, Wofford reached unprecedented heights. Roos guided the Terriers, who entered the season having never advanced out of the quarterfinals, to the Southern Conference championship. The team finished the season with a 22-11 record, Wofford’s most win in the Division I era, and a 10-6 conference record, also a best in Wofford’s DI era. Outside hitter Catie Cronister was named Co-Player of the Year, while Colleen Reilly joined her on the First-Team for the second straight year and Riley Coonan was honored as an All-Freshman selection.
Wofford’s roster consists of 17 players and the Terriers return all six starters and libero.
2o18 Wofford Volleyball Schedule
| DAY | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME |
| Fri. | Aug. 24 | at Purdue^ | West Lafayette, Ind. | 10 a.m. |
| Fri. | Aug. 24 | vs. Tulsa^ | West Lafayette, Ind. | 5:30 p.m. |
| Sat. | Aug. 25 | vs. Bowling Green^ | West Lafayette, Ind. | 12 p.m. |
| Thurs. | Aug. 30 | vs. Tulane% | Atlanta, Ga. | 9:30 a.m. |
| Thurs. | Aug. 30 | at Georgia Tech% | Atlanta, Ga. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Aug. 31 | vs. Alabama State% | Atlanta, Ga. | 2 p.m. |
| Fri. | Aug. 31 | vs. South Alabama% | Atlanta, Ga. | 4:30 p.m. |
| Fri. | Sept. 7 | vs. Illinois-Chicago# | Orlando, Fla. | 1 p.m. |
| Fri. | Sept. 7 | vs. Florida International# | Orlando, Fla. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Sept. 8 | at Central Florida# | Orlando, Fla. | 3 p.m. |
| Tues. | Sept. 11 | at Presbyterian | Clinton, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Sept. 14 | vs. NORTH CAROLINA A&T+ | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Sat. | Sept. 15 | vs. MIDDLE TENN. STATE+ | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 10 a.m. |
| Sat. | Sept. 15 | vs. GARDNER-WEBB+ | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Sept. 21 | at Chattanooga* | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Sept. 22 | at Samford* | Birmingham, Ala. | 6 p.m. |
| Fri. | Sept. 28 | vs. THE CITADEL* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Sat. | Sept. 29 | vs. MERCER* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 4 p.m. |
| Fri. | Oct. 5 | at ETSU* | Johnson City, Tenn. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Oct. 6 | at Western Carolina* | Cullowhee, N.C. | 6 p.m. |
| Wed. | Oct. 10 | vs. FURMAN* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Oct. 13 | vs. UNCG* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 4 p.m. |
| Fri. | Oct. 19 | vs. CHATTANOOGA* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Oct. 20 | vs. SAMFORD* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 6 p.m. |
| Fri. | Oct. 26 | at Mercer* | Macon, Ga. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Oct. 27 | at The Citadel* | Charleston, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Nov. 2 | vs. WESTERN CAROLINA* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. | Nov. 3 | vs. ETSU* | SPARTANBURG, S.C. | 4 p.m. |
| Wed. | Nov. 7 | at Furman* | Greenville, S.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Nov. 9 | at UNCG* | Greensboro, N.C. | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. | Nov. 16 | SoCon Quarterfinals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBD |
| Sat. | Nov. 17 | SoCon Semifinals | Greensboro, N.C. | TBD |
| Sun. | Nov. 18 | SoCon Championship Final | Greensboro, N.C. | TBD |
ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)
Home matches listed in BOLD & CAPS
^ Boilermaker Invitational (Hosted by Purdue)
% Hyatt Regency Tournament (Hosted by Georgia Tech)
# UCF Challenge (Hosted by Central Florida)
+ Wofford Tournament (Hosted by Wofford)
* Southern Conference Match
— SoCon Championship hosted by UNCG (Nov. 15-18)
Leave a Reply