University of Connecticut Athletics
Strauss-O'Brien Announces 2009 Volleyball Schedule
6/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
2009 Connecticut Volleyball Schedule
June 11, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - University of Connecticut volleyball head coach Holly Strauss-O'Brien announced the 2009 schedule on Thursday. The schedule features 20 matches on the road as well as the fifth UConn Toyota Classic.
"This 2009 season we are trying to take UConn Volleyball to a place that is has never gone before, the NCAA Tournament," Strauss-O'Brien said. "The competitive schedule we have will help us boost our RPI (Rating Percentage Index) and challenge us to get ready for BIG EAST Conference play."
The Huskies find themselves on the West Coast to start the season at the Nevada Marriott Courtyard/Fairfield Invitational August 28-30. Set to face St. Mary's (Calif.) for the first time in program history, UConn will also take on California for the first time since 2001 when the Golden Bears participated in the IKON Husky Classic and UC Irvine for just the third time in volleyball. The Huskies will take on Nevada for the first time since 1998 which is the same season the Huskies captured a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title.
The following weekend the Huskies find themselves playing host with the fifth UConn Toyota Classic on September 4-5 in Storrs, Conn. Long Island, New Hampshire and Texas Christian look to deny the UConn the chance to defend its title in 2009.
On Sept. 8, UConn travels to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Harvard in each team's first action outside of tournament play for the 2009 season. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Malkin Athletic Center.
The Huskies then compete in the Dayton Flyer Classic from Sept. 11-12, playing Creighton and Samford in addition to the host Flyers. In 2006, UConn played Dayton at the Minnesota Diet Coke Classic.
Northeastern comes to Gampel Pavilion on Sept. 16 for a 7 p.m. match against UConn before the Huskies compete in their final regular-season tournament in Boston, Mass. UConn will participate in the Boston College Tournament Sept. 18-19 with the schedule to be announced, the Huskies will play Hartford and University of Rhode Island in addition to the Eagles.
A six-day break gives volleyball the opportunity to rest up before embarking on the BIG EAST portion of the 2009 slate, hosting Notre Dame and DePaul to start the year in Storrs on Sept. 25 and 27, respectively.
In addition, UConn will take on Marquette (Oct. 9), Syracuse (Oct. 11), West Virginia (Oct. 30) and Pittsburgh (Nov. 1) in front of a home crowd this season. The Huskies face South Florida (Oct. 2), Georgetown (Oct. 4), Villanova (Oct. 17) and St. John's (Oct. 24) on the road before capping of the season with a four-game road trip.
This season, the Huskies will travel to intrastate competitor Fairfield on Oct. 14 for their final non-conference match of the regular season at 7 p.m. midway through the conference schedule.
UConn will spend much of November on the road with the final four regular season games at Rutgers (Nov. 6), Seton Hall (Nov. 8), Cincinnati (Nov. 14) and Louisville (Nov. 15).
Seeking its fourth-consecutive BIG EAST Tournament berth, the Huskies look to begin the postseason where the regular season ends. Defending conference champions, Louisville is set to host this season's tournament Nov. 20-22.
In 2008, UConn won seven of its final eight BIG EAST regular season matches to conclude the year with a 10-4 conference record. The Huskies earned the highest seed in program history since 2002 with a No. 4 seed at the conference tournament. Overall, UConn ended the year with a 21-11 record for the most wins in a season since 2003 as well as the most wins with Strauss-O'Brien on the sidelines.
