Women's Volleyball | May 12, 2016

PHILADELPHIA- La Salle women's volleyball coach Caitlin Rimgaila announced the 2016 schedule for the Explorers on Wednesday. The 2016 slate includes 16 nonconference games with four tournaments including the La Salle Invitational to kick off the year and 14 Atlantic 10 games.
 
"Overall, we feel like we put together a pre-season schedule that allows us to gain experience for our seven new team members, as well as continue to grow upon previous seasons' records," stated Rimgaila.
 
La Salle kicks off the year on the final weekend of August as it will host the La Salle Invitational. The invite features five schools with La Salle facing off against Morgan State, Quinnipiac, St. Francis (Pa.), and NJIT over Friday and Saturday with a pair of games each day.
 
"We are excited to start the season off by bringing back the La Salle Invitational," said Rimgaila. "Having the opportunity to open our schedule at home should help to build confidence, and hopefully start of the season in a winning fashion."
 
The Explorers then hit the road to take on Lafayette on Tuesday August 30 before traveling to Queens, N.Y. from September 2-3 for the Jack Kaiser Invitational. La Salle opens the invite against Binghamton on Friday before facing St. John's and Niagara on Saturday.
 
"Again, having the chance to play at my Alma Mater, St. John's, is always fun for me and the team," added Rimgaila. "We competed hard against the Red Storm two years ago, and look to use that experience in this year's matchup."
 
La Salle hits the road again the following weekend for the Providence Invitational. They open the invite on Friday facing Quinnipiac for the second time during the season, before facing the host Friars and Holy Cross on Saturday, September 10 to close out the invite.
 
A short midweek road trip follows as the Blue and Gold head to Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, September 14 for a 7 p.m. match. The Explorers close the heart of their nonconference slate on the weekend of September 16-17 with the Big 5 Tournament. They face Penn on Friday at The Palestra before hosting day two with Temple and Villanova coming to Tom Gola Arena.
"With the new format for the Big 5 tournament, we have the chance to hold Saturday's matches at Tom Gola Arena," stated Rimgaila. "The Big 5 tournament is always great experience for both the players and fans, and we look forward to hosting this year."
 
The Explorers open conference play with a road trip north to take on Fordham (9/23) and Rhode Island (9/24). They then return home for three straight weekends and five games at Tom Gola. Over that stretch they will face Davidson (9/30), VCU (10/2), Duquesne (10/7), Rhode Island (10/14), and Fordham (10/16).
 
La Salle then takes a brief break from A-10 play to close out its nonconference slate with a trip to Delaware State on Tuesday, October 18. They then hit the road for four road conference games. They head to defending conference champion Dayton (10/21), conference runner-up St. Louis (10/23), George Washington (10/28), and George Mason (10/29).
 
The Explorers return home for a pair of games at Tom Gola Arena against St. Louis (11/4) and Dayton (11/6) before hitting the road for the final game of the regular season at Duquesne (11/11).
 
"As always, the Atlantic 10 conference provides challenging match-ups, and as we continue to rebuild and grow the La Salle volleyball program, our goals remain the same of being as competitive as possible amongst our conference foes," said Rimgaila.
 
The 2016 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship will be hosted by St. Louis from Friday, November 18 through Sunday, November 20 with the top six teams in the Atlantic 10 qualifying for the Championship.
 
La Salle returns eight players from the 2015 roster while welcoming a seven member recruiting class to campus over the summer.