The Youngstown State volleyball team will begin its 2011 campaign one month from today under second-year head coach Krista Burrows.
The Penguins will play three teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last year and a total of 12 matches against programs coming off of 20-win seasons. They'll play NCAA tournament qualifiers Sacred Heart and Indiana as well as Syracuse in the opening two weeks of the season. The first of 10 home matches is set for Sept. 6 against Eastern Michigan, and the Horizon League schedule will start on Sept. 16 at Wright State.
The season will commence on Aug. 26 against Siena at the Syracuse Big Orange Tournament when the Penguins take on Siena. YSU will play Syracuse and Sacred Heart the following day before traveling to Kent State on Aug. 30 for a midweek match. The Guins will then travel to Indiana to play in a tournament against the Hoosiers, Buffalo and SEMO on Sept. 2-3.
YSU will welcome Eastern Michigan to Beeghly Center for the first time on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to open the home portion of the 2011 schedule. The Guins will play their final in-season tournament that weekend at UMBC against the host Retrievers, Fairleigh Dickinson and Norfolk State.
The Penguins will open Horizon League play on Friday, Sept. 16, at Wright State, and they'll play at defending tournament champion Butler the following afternoon. YSU will return home to play Robert Morris on Sept. 20, and the Guins' first Horizon League match at Beeghly Center will be Sept. 23 against Cleveland State.
YSU will play defending regular-season champion Milwaukee on Oct. 1 for its third straight home match, but the Guins will start a tough road swing on Oct. 4 at Loyola. The Penguins will play at Loyola, Green Bay, UIC and Valparaiso in a six-day span to conclude the first round of the conference circuit.
The Guins will return home to host Butler and Wright State on Oct. 14 and 15, but they'll head right back on the road to play at Cleveland State on Oct. 21 and at Milwaukee and Chicago State on Oct. 28-29. YSU will conclude the regular season with four straight home matches against Valparaiso and UIC on Nov. 4-5 and against Green Bay and Loyola on Nov. 11-12.
Burrows will have eight newcomers and eight returners on the 2011 squad. Brittany Grove and Brianna Kern will be the only two seniors, and transfers Rachel Gambow and Kelsey Wagy will be the lone juniors.
