Washington Steps Up Non-Conference Schedule for 2017 Season

The 2017 NCAA women’s volleyball season is still 7 weeks from first serve, but the Washington Huskies have already made their aspirations known: hosting a regional round of the NCAA tournament in December. To do that, head coach Keegan Cook says that her team had to make their schedule ‘a little better’ than it was last season.

“The first thought when it comes to scheduling is ‘What can we do in the first four weeks to give us our best opportunity to succeed in December?’ said Cook. “This year the answer to that question meant scheduling some tremendous teams who have similar aspirations as us and who can give us a chance to host a regional.

“Last year our preseason scheduling helped put us in a close position to host a regional. We finished with an RPI of six. So the challenge was, can we make this season’s schedule a little bit better?”

The 2017 schedule, though, is not just “a little” better. The Huskies ramped the competition way up in the pre-Pac-12 season. Whereas last year, they played only 2 tournament teams in their pre-conference season (Northern Illinois, who were swept in the first round, and Hawaii, who was swept in the second). This year, they’ll again play two teams from last year’s NCAA tournament, but this time that’s Missouri State and Creighton – another team that should begin the year in the national top 10 after advancing to the Elite 8 last season: the same level as Washington.

Comparison of 2017’s Non-Conference Schedule to 2016:

RPI ranks based on final regular-season 2016 RPI Rankings:

Washington will play each Pac-12 opponent twice this season, with the exception of the Arizona schools – they’ll make no trip to Tucson, and Arizona State will make no return trip to Seattle.

16 of the team’s 20 Pac-12 matchups will be broaddcast live, with 15 on the Pac-12 Networks and 1 on ESPNU. The Huskies are ranked 6th in the VolleyMob 2017 Pre-Pre-Season Rankings.

Washington hosted the first two rounds of last year’s NCAA tournament, where they swept Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Kentucky. They eventually fell to Nebraska 3-0 in the Elite 8.

See the team’s full 2017 schedule below:

Scheduled Games

• AUG 25 (FRI) 6:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS PITTSBURGH

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• AUG 26 (SAT) 12:00 PM PT

  VS SAINT MARY’S (CALIFORNIA)

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• AUG 26 (SAT) 7:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS CREIGHTON

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• SEP 1 (FRI) 7:00 PM PT

  VS SANTA CLARA

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• SEP 2 (SAT) 12:00 PM PT

  VS SEATTLE

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• SEP 2 (SAT) 7:00 PM PT

  VS CAL POLY

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• SEP 8 (FRI) 10:00 AM PT

  VS MISSOURI STATE

  MALIBU, CALIF.
• SEP 8 (FRI) 7:00 PM PT

  AT PEPPERDINE

  MALIBU, CALIF.
• SEP 9 (SAT) 2:00 PM PT

  VS WYOMING

  MALIBU, CALIF.
• SEP 14 (THU) TBD

  VS OKLAHOMA

  COLLEGE PARK, MD.
• SEP 15 (FRI) TBD

  AT MARYLAND

  COLLEGE PARK, MD.
• SEP 20 (WED) 6:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT WASHINGTON STATE

  PULLMAN, WASH.
• SEP 24 (SUN) 1:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT ARIZONA STATE

  TEMPE, ARIZ.
• SEP 29 (FRI) 7:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT UCLA

  LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
• OCT 1 (SUN) 1:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT USC

  LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
• OCT 6 (FRI) 8:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS UTAH

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• OCT 8 (SUN) 3:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS COLORADO

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• OCT 11 (WED) 7:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS OREGON

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• OCT 13 (FRI) TBD

  VS OREGON STATE

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• OCT 19 (THU) 8:00 PM PT ESPNU

  AT STANFORD

  STANFORD, CALIF.
• OCT 21 (SAT) TBD

  AT CALIFORNIA

  BERKELEY, CALIF.
• OCT 27 (FRI) 6:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS USC

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• OCT 29 (SUN) 11:00 AM PTPAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS UCLA

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• NOV 3 (FRI) 5:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT COLORADO

  BOULDER, COLO.
• NOV 4 (SAT) TBD

  AT UTAH

  SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
• NOV 8 (WED) 7:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS STANFORD

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• NOV 9 (THU) 7:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS CALIFORNIA

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• NOV 17 (FRI) 6:00 PM PT

  AT OREGON STATE

  CORVALLIS, ORE.
• NOV 19 (SUN) TBD PAC-12 NETWORKS

  AT OREGON

  EUGENE, ORE.
• NOV 22 (WED) TBD PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS ARIZONA

  SEATTLE, WASH.
• NOV 24 (FRI) 8:00 PM PT PAC-12 NETWORKS

  VS WASHINGTON STATE