BOONE, N.C. - Highlighted by four in-season tournaments, including the Appalachian Invitational over Labor Day weekend, Appalachian State University volleyball has yet another challenging slate of matches set for the upcoming 2009 season.
Head Coach Matt Ginipro is very excited about the 2009 slate and the strong opponents the Apps will play.
"I am very happy with our 2009 schedule and I like the quality of teams we will be playing during the early non-conference season", said Ginipro. "Having four available weekends before SoCon play starts really allows us to get a lot of matches under our belt before facing a conference opponent which should let us look at different lineups and systems. I feel like this non-conference schedule will immediately challenge us and prepare us for the difficult SoCon season."
The Apps begin the 2009 season with a trip out West to play in the Four Points Titan Classic, August 28-29. They will then return home to the comfy confines of the Holmes Center to host the Appalachian Invitational, September 4 and 5, where the Mountaineers will square off against William and Mary, North Florida and Tennessee Tech.
ASU’s home stretch is short, as the Black and Gold hit the road once more, heading to Rock Hill, S.C. to compete at the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational to face host Winthrop, Butler and Morgan State. Appalachian has not played the Bulldogs since 2003, Winthrop since 1997 and has never faced Morgan State.
The Mountaineers play their final regular season tournament the weekend of September 18, traveling to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take part in the Black and Gold Challenge hosted by Wake Forest. Along with facing the Demon Deacons, ASU will go up against ACC foe Duke and Big South competitor Liberty.
The road stint continues, with the Apps heading to the Palmetto State for its first Southern Conference match up of the 2009 season against The Citadel. The two squads split the series last season, with ASU dropping a 3-1 decision in Boone before defeating the Bulldogs, 3-0, on their homecourt.
Appalachian’s first home SoCon match is set for September 30 against Western Carolina, before heading down the mountain once more to take on conference rivals Elon and UNCG.
A four match home strech starts on October 10 for the Mountaineers, who host Chattanooga, SoCon North Divison champion Samford, 2008 SoCon Tournament champion Furman and Wofford. The Black and Gold close out the month of October with a home match on Halloween against SoCon South Division champion College of Charleston.
The Apps final two home matches of the 2009 campaign are on November 11 and November 14, as ASU hosts UNCG and Elon, both matches have 7 p.m. starts.
The 2009 Southern Conference Tournament will take place November 20-22 with a location yet to be determined.
A full look at the Mountaineers’ schedule can be found here.