Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Reveals 2006 Volleyball Schedule
7/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
July 17, 2006
Click here for the 2006 Marquette volleyball schedule
MILWAUKEE - Matches against seven 2005 NCAA Tournament teams underscore Marquette's 2006 volleyball schedule as announced today by head coach Pati Rolf.
"I think our team is smart enough now and we have the maturity that we know we need to take every match extremely seriously," said Rolf about the 2006 season. "Every weekend really is key. You have to take every match seriously, otherwise you jeopardize your RPI opportunity towards the end of the season if you don't win your conference championship. We really try and make sure every weekend is an opportunity to get better."
The Golden Eagles waste no time diving into what should be an exciting first weekend of the season, playing in the Duke Invitational. MU takes on Duke, which fell to eventual 2005 NCAA runner-up Nebraska in the second round of last season's tournament, in its season opener (Aug. 25). 2005 Colonial Athletic Association Conference Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Virginia Commonwealth is next on the slate in an early game Aug. 26, before taking on Gardner-Webb that evening to wrap-up the Invite.
"I really like our non-conference schedule," said Rolf. "I think this schedule really fits this team. We are going to start off at Duke, which is such a great place to play. It will be a really good challenge for us. I think the schedule has a good variety and it challenges the players to prepare for the BIG EAST."
The Golden Eagles host the Marquette Kick-Off Tournament the following weekend. MU takes on Mississippi Sept. 1 in its tourney opener and then Illinois, Sept. 2. It concludes the tournament against 2005 Horizon League Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament team Loyola (Ill.), Sept. 3.
Up next for Marquette is a trip to the University of Michigan Invitational (Sept. 8-9) where it will take on Pacific, Michigan and Virginia, before returning home to host UC-San Francisco, Oakland and Stony Brook in the Marquette Challenge (Sept. 15-16).
MU opens BIG EAST play in a big way Sept. 22 as Cincinnati comes to town, setting pace for a contest against 2005 Co-Regular Season BIG EAST Champion and Sweet-16 participant Louisville, which finished last season ranked No. 11, on Parent's Day (Sept. 24).
"We are really looking forward to having both Louisville and Cincinnati in town," remarked Rolf. "Cincinnati is always a huge rival for us and Louisville, being such a strong, power-some top-10 program, it is important to bring them into `The Al'."
Marquette takes to the road Sept. 29 as it faces Georgetown in the first of four-straight matches on the road against BIG EAST opponents, its longest time away from home this season. Following the Hoyas, the Golden Eagles take on USF (Oct. 1), 2005 BIG EAST Conference Tournament Champion and Co-Regular Season Champion Notre Dame (Oct. 6) and DePaul (Oct. 8).
"We are really looking forward to Notre Dame," added Rolf. "There is an event scheduled to coincide with the football game (the Fighting Irish host Stanford Oct. 7) and it is estimated we will be playing before 5,000 people, the largest crowd this team has ever competed in front of."
MU returns home to roll out the red carpet for cross-town rival and 2005 Horizon League Regular-Season Champion UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 10) before getting back on the road to take on Syracuse (Oct. 14).
Home matches against Pittsburgh (Oct. 20) and West Virginia (Oct. 22) mark the beginning of the second half of BIG EAST play. UW-Green Bay also makes an appearance at "The Al" Oct. 24.
A weekend-series at Rutgers (Oct. 27) and Villanova (Oct. 29) precede the final regular-season home matches of the 2006 season. Connecticut comes to town Nov. 3 before St. John's visits on Senior Night, Nov. 5.
Seton Hall hosts Marquette Nov. 10 in the final regular-season BIG EAST game for the Golden Eagles.
"The BIG EAST schedule is going to be great," exclaimed Rolf. "We have Louisville and Notre Dame that were both in the top-10, which was a first for the conference. It is getting stronger. My biggest goal is to keep the BIG EAST in the top-five of all the conferences and right now it is. It is nice going into the conference schedule knowing that week in and week out we are going to have a competitive opponent."
The 2006 BIG EAST Tournament will be held Nov. 17-19 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Golden Eagles finish the non-conference portion of their schedule against two Southeastern Conference opponents, Nov. 24-25, playing in the Florida Disney Classic in Orlando, Fla. MU takes on 2005 SEC Regular Season and Tournament Champion Florida, which advanced to the round of eight in last season's NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked No. 3, before concluding the regular season against round of 64 member LSU.
The first and second rounds of the 2006 NCAA Tournament are scheduled for Nov. 30 - Dec. 2 on campus sites with the regionals taking place Dec. 7-10 with sites yet to be determined. The semifinals and championship will be held Dec. 14-16 in Omaha, Neb.
