Women's Volleyball | June 3, 2015

Full Schedule

PHILADELPHIA- Head coach Caitlin Rimgaila has announced the 2015 schedule for the La Salle volleyball team which is set to kick off on August 28.
 
The Explorers enter the season coming off a 2014 campaign that saw them go 10-21, 3-11 A-10. La Salle recorded their most wins in a single season since 2007. The schedule features 18 nonconference games as well as a 14-game Atlantic 10 slate.
 
La Salle kicks off their schedule with four straight tournaments to open the season. La Salle opens up at the William and Mary Invitational on Aug. 28-29 (Norfolk State, William and Mary, Gardner and Webb). Next the Explorers travel to New Orleans for the 2015 New Orleans Invitational on Sept. 4-5 (Eastern Washington, Providence, New Orleans). On Sept. 11-12 La Salle will participate in the Marist Invitational against the likes of Bucknell, Marist, and Bryant.
 
"With four seniors on the roster this year, we wanted to take an out-of-region trip to New Orleans, an area of the country the girls have never competed in before," said Rimgaila. "Additionally, I felt the tournaments at William and Mary, Marist and of course the Big 5, put us in the position to play against solid programs yet give us good competitive match-ups."
 
For the second straight season La Salle will close out their in-season conference tournament play in the Big 5 Tournament. The Explorers will play Philadelphia rivals Temple, Villanova and Penn on Sept. 18-19 with Friday against the Owls being played at The Palestra while day two of the tournament will be at McGonigle Hall on the campus of Temple University.
 
"We are always excited to play against our local rivals, and we will see if the change in format this year works to our competitive advantage," stated Rimgaila. "Although none of the matches are on our home court, we do not have a true road match throughout the tournament."
 
Also mixed in to the nonconference slate are mid-week home matches against Lafayette (Sept. 1), Delaware State (Sept. 9), Fairleigh Dickinson (Sept. 16) as well as road trips to UMBC (Sept. 22), UMES (Oct. 20), and NJIT (Oct. 31).
 
"We tried to create as competitive of a pre-season schedule as possible, which will potentially set us up for success going in to our conference play," added Rimgaila. "Playing mid-week matches can be challenging, but I believe the more opportunities we have to compete prior to our conference play will build confidence heading into our A-10 matches." 
 
The 14-game home slate features and even split of home and road weekends. La Salle will host Saint Louis, Dayton, George Washington, George Mason, Duquesne, Davidson and VCU while making road trips to Duquesne, Rhode Island, Fordham, VCU, Davidson, George Mason and George Washington. The Explorers host Saint Louis and Dayton on Sept 25/27 to open up conference play. The home conference slate features five of the six teams who qualified for the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship last season.
 
"All of our A-10 matches are always a test, however we are looking to build on our success of last year, with loftier goals of competing with the top teams in the conference," said Rimgaila. "Having the ability to play against these teams on our home court, while having the support of our own fans, should allow us to play calmer and more poised in those matches."
 
The 2015 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship will be hosted by George Washington beginning on Friday November 20.