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Volleyball schedule set

April 7, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Coming off a record-breaking 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Western Michigan University volleyball team recently announced its 2009 schedule.

This will be one of the team's most challenging seasons, with back-to-back matches against some of the nation's highest-ranked competition. The Broncos will face 13 teams that finished among the top-100 in the country, eight that played in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and four that finished in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25.

"The fact that these teams are willing to schedule us, including four of them coming to Kalamazoo, is a testament to our program and the quality and competitiveness of MAC volleyball as a whole," says head volleyball coach Colleen Munson.

WMU opens the season in Honolulu, where it will compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. The Broncos return home the next weekend to host a tournament at University Arena Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5. In a 7 p.m. match the first day of the tourney, the Broncos will try to avenge themselves against Wake Forest, one of the few teams to defeat them in 2008. The next day, they will play a 10 a.m. game versus Illinois State and 7 p.m. game against Dayton before heading back on the road for tournaments at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Indiana.

Following the non-conference tournament season, the Broncos will host 10 matches at University Arena, playing versus Cincinnati Monday, Sept. 21; Bowling Green Saturday, Oct. 3; Eastern Michigan Friday, Oct. 9; Central Michigan Saturday, Oct. 10; Kent State Friday, Oct. 23; Ohio Saturday, Oct. 24; Ball State Friday, Oct. 30; Toledo Saturday, Oct. 31; Northern Illinois Thursday, Nov. 5; and Valparaiso Saturday, Nov. 28.

WMU remains strong this year, returning all eight letter winners from last season's 28-7 team, including two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Strimel, MAC Setter of the Year Jillian Mitchell, two-time First Team All-MAC outside hitter Michelle Moore, Second Team All-MAC middle blocker Jaime Gotham, former MAC All-Freshman Team outside hitters Katie Eberling and Allyson Doyle, and 2008 All-MAC Tournament middle blocker Kate Corbett.

2009 WMU Volleyball Schedule (all times EST)

Saturday, Aug. 22, Alumnae Match, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 28, at Hawaii, midnight
Saturday, Aug. 29, UCLA at Hawaii, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 30, Santa Clara at Hawaii, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 4, Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 5, Illinois State, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 5, Dayton, 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 11, Marquette at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, noon
Friday, Sept. 11, at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 12, Ohio State at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, noon
Saturday, Sept. 12, South Dakota at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 15, at IPFW, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 18, at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19, TBD at Indiana, noon
Saturday, Sept. 19, North Carolina A&T at Indiana, 5 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 21, Cincinnati, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 25, at Toledo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 26, at Ball State, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 1, at Northern Illinois, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 3, Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 9, Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 10, Central Michigan, 7 p.m
.
Friday, Oct. 16, at Akron, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 17, at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 23, Kent State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24, Ohio, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 30, Ball State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31, Toledo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5, Northern Illinois, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7, at Miami, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13, at Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14, at Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 28, Valparaiso, 7 p.m.

Visit wmubroncos.com for more information about Bronco volleyball or to purchase tickets.

Media contact: Matt Holmes, (269) 387-3168, matt.holmes@wmich.edu

WMU News
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