Aug. 3, 2010
2010 Women's Volleyball Schedule
Coming off their eighth Colonial Athletic Association title and seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, head coach Pat Kendrick and the George Mason women's volleyball team announced their 2010 schedule today. The Patriots will take their home court 12 times while participating in four pre-conference tournaments, highlighted by the annual Patriot Invitational.
"We're excited for the new season, and can't wait to see how the new recruits fit in with a solid core of returning players," said Kendrick, who will begin her 26th season at the helm. "Coming off of a championship-winning season, we're looking to build on the success we had last year."
Mason will open the season at the annual D.C. Volleyball Challenge, with the two-day tournament being hosted Friday, August 27 at American before shifting to Fairfax, where the Patriots face Georgetown and George Washington at the RAC.
The following weekend, Mason will host the Patriot Invitational. The two-day, six-match tournament taking place on Family Weekend will feature a field which includes Army, Charlotte, and West Virginia. The Patriots face the Black Knights on Friday, September 3, with games against WVU and Charlotte the following day.
A two-week road trip begins Wednesday, Sep. 8 with a midweek matchup at Loyola (Md.). On Sep. 10-11, Mason travels to New Jersey to take part in the Rutgers Tournament along with the host Scarlet Knights, TCU and Princeton. One week later, the Patriots will travel to Charlottesville for matches against Stony Brook and Virginia as part of the Cavaliers' tournament. The contest against Virginia on Sep. 18 represents Mason's non-conference finale.
The Patriots begin their title defense on Saturday, Sep. 25 when they host James Madison at the RAC. One week later, Mason hits the road for the northern swing of conference play, facing Northeastern and Hofstra on Friday, October 1 and Sunday, Oct. 3, respectively.
Mason will welcome back its former players on Alumni Weekend on Oct. 8-9, coinciding with home matches against Georgia State and UNC Wilmington. The Patriots remain at home one more week, hosting William & Mary on Friday, Oct. 15 before a championship rematch against VCU the following day. The contest against the Rams, whom Mason defeated in five sets in Richmond to claim the CAA crown, will be Mason's Dig Pink Match.
What follows is the Patriots' longest road trip of the season, spanning three weekends with road matches at JMU (Oct. 23), Towson (Oct. 29), Delaware (Oct. 30), UNC Wilmington (November 5), and Georgia State (Nov. 7). After the travel, Mason will return home for its final two regular season matches on Senior Weekend, hosting Hofstra and Northeastern on Nov. 12-13.
The 2010 CAA Championship will feature the top-four regular season finishers, and will be hosted by the top seed from Nov. 20-21.
