University of Tennessee Athletics
Volleyball Announces 2015 Schedule
June 25, 2015 | Volleyball
June 25, 2015
2015 Schedule | Printable Schedule | SEC TV Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee head volleyball coach Rob Patrick has announced his team's 2015 schedule, a 33-match slate that includes 14 home contests and six matches to be televised nationally on ESPNU or the SEC Network.
"I'm excited about the schedule that we've put together for our program," Patrick said. "I think we have some very well-coached teams on the schedule and some teams that have been very successful over the past few seasons that will prepare us for our SEC schedule."
UT's 33 matches in 2015 are comprised of 15 non-conference fixtures prior to the start of the 18-match Southeastern Conference schedule. Of those 15 non-league games, Tennessee will play 14 of them within a tournament format as it takes part in four separate preseason tournaments from the end of August until the end of September. In all, the Vols will host 14 matches in Knoxville while playing 12 true road matches to go along with seven neutral site contests.
Six of those league games will be televised nationally on either ESPNU or the SEC Network. All four of Tennessee's appearances on ESPNU will take place on Wednesday nights as the network will air 10 consecutive weeks of SEC Volleyball during the midweek, evening time slot. UT's four ESPNU dates are Oct. 7 (at LSU), Oct. 14 (vs. Florida), Nov. 11 (at South Carolina), and Nov. 25 (vs. Auburn).
Tennessee will also play twice on the SEC Network, both Sunday matinees: Oct. 25 at Mississippi State and Nov. 8 when it plays host to Kentucky. In all, ESPNU and the SEC Network will air 50 SEC volleyball matches this fall. Additional school-produced events, available on SEC Network + via WatchESPN, will be announced at a later date.
The 2015 volleyball season begins Friday, Aug. 28 in Maryland as UT takes part in the Towson Invitational. The Vols play two matches on opening day, facing Delaware State at 12:15 p.m. ET before squaring off with the host Towson that evening. Another doubleheader awaits Tennessee on Saturday as it takes on both Coppin State and Saint Francis (PA).
"One of the things that this young team needs is to get a lot of matches in, so we put our schedule together with that in mind," said Patrick. "We're opening up at Towson with four matches and then we're playing another four matches at our home tournament which gives us eight matches over the first two weeks of competition."
UT's annual home tournament, contested at Thompson-Boling Arena, gets underway Thursday, Sept. 3 against in-state foe Tennessee Tech. UT swept its way past TTU in last season's opener and holds a record of 113-23-4 against in-state opponents since 1973. The following night, Tennessee plays host to UNC Greensboro before wrapping up the three-day tournament with matches against North Florida and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 8
"The second weekend of the year we're going to be at home and we're excited about bringing in an in-state team in Tennessee Tech," Patrick said of his squad's home invitational. "We've got some good regional teams coming in with UNC Greensboro, North Florida, and Eastern Kentucky. So some very well-coached teams will be coming to Knoxville, teams that have been successful and are on the rise. It will allow our young players to mature while playing at home."
The five-match homestand comes to a close on Tuesday, Sept. 8 when UT welcomes Evansville of the Missouri Valley Conference to TBA for a midweek game. The Purple Aces represent just one of two non-conference rematches for the Vols in 2015, having defeated Evansville, 3-1, last season on its home court.
Next, Tennessee travels to Charleston, South Carolina, for the CofC Invitational, hosted by the College of Charleston. While there, UT faces Wofford and Jacksonville before meeting the host Cougars -- the reigning regular season champions of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Vols meet their first returning postseason qualifier of the year during its final non-conference road trip when it meets MEAC Tournament champions Hampton to open up the NC State Tournament. The three-match tourney runs Sept. 18-19 and UT will also match up with Campbell of the Big South and North Carolina State of the ACC.
"College of Charleston is in the NCAA Tournament nearly every year so we're excited to face them on their home court," Patrick said. "Then we'll finish up the non-conference slate at an ACC site at North Carolina State."
Tennessee opens up SEC play on the road with a Friday-Sunday trip to Auburn and Georgia on Sept. 25 and 27. The Vols kick off the month of October at home against Alabama, but quickly hit the road again for a Sunday match at Missouri and a mid-week, Wednesday trip to 2014 NCAA Tournament participant LSU. Following the trek to Baton Rouge, UT begins its longest conference homestand of the season as Arkansas, reigning SEC champ Florida, and South Carolina visit Knoxville. A quick excursion to the Magnolia State to face Ole Miss and Mississippi State on Oct. 23-25 wraps up the final full weekend of October before LSU and Texas A&M turn the calendar in Knoxville on the following weekend.
UT will navigate its second home-away weekend split of the SEC season on Nov. 6-8, traveling to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on a Friday before returning home on Sunday to meet NCAA qualifier Kentucky. The Vols make their first trip to South Carolina since 2013 on Wednesday, Nov. 11 and wrap up the road slate at Florida on Sunday, Nov. 15.
The regular season comes to a close with a pair of matches bookending the Thanksgiving holiday in late November. Auburn will be on hand Wednesday, Nov. 25 before UT plays host to Georgia to finish the regular season.
The 64-team field for the 2015 NCAA Tournament will be announced four days later on Nov. 29.
Tennessee returns 10 players from its 2014 squad, including rising seniors Lexi Dempsey and Megan Hatcher. Rising sophomore Kendra Turner, the team's leader in total kills (222) and kills per set (2.67), also returns alongside seven newcomers.
