The University of Akron Athletics
Volleyball Announces 2011 Schedule
May 27 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron volleyball program and head coach Ron Arenz have announced the 2011 schedule. The Zips, coming off their best season since 2003, posted a 15-17 overall record and a 7-9 mark in Mid-American Conference play in 2010. Arenz, who enters his fourth year at the helm of the program, looks to continue UA's steady improvement since taking over in 2008.
"Our schedule this fall is the most assertive yet," said Arenz. "We are going to face teams with tremendous talent, great coaching and NCAA tournament experience. Our goals include winning MAC Championships; therefore, we need to put ourselves in front of strong competition as many times as we can. I believe this schedule will allow us to do that."
In 2011, the Zips will travel to three tournaments, as well as host the Akron Invitational for the third consecutive year, before beginning MAC action. Highlighting the schedule, UA will face three NCAA Tournament teams from last season in MAC champion Ohio, America East champion Albany, and Big Ten foe Ohio State, who advanced to the Third Round in 2010.
The season will open at the UAB Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. the weekend of Aug. 26. Akron will face Arkansas State and UAB on Friday before taking on Troy the next day to wrap up the event. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, UA will make the short trip to Cleveland State to face the Vikings in midweek action before the start of home matches.
James A. Rhodes Arena will see its first Zips volleyball match of the season on Sept. 2 when UA takes on St. Francis (Pa.) as part of the Akron Invitational. Akron will also play Bradley on the opening day before closing out the event against Canisius on Sept. 3.
The following weekend, Akron will head north to Milwaukee, Wisc. for the UW-Milwaukee/Marquette Tournament on Sept. 9 & 10. The Zips will play both host schools on their home floors, as well as Conference USA member Southern Mississippi. UW-Milwaukee is the defending champion of the Horizon League, while Marquette posted a school-record 23 wins last season while competing in the Big East.
The final non-conference play will see UA staying in state for the Ohio State Tournament Sept. 16 & 17. Akron will open the event with Albany and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Maryland on Friday and wrap up action in Columbus against the Buckeyes on Saturday. Akron is 0-5 all-time against OSU and has not faced Ohio St. since 1999.
The Zips begin MAC play with two home matches against Buffalo and Ball State Sept. 22 & 24, respectively. The first league road matches will be the following weekend at Bowling Green and Miami. Friday, Oct. 1 will begin a four-match homestand from Oct. 7-15 where UA will play host to Ohio, Kent State, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan. The Zips swept the rival Golden Flashes last year in two five-set thrillers.
Akron finishes out the month of October with road contests at Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, and Toledo. The final two home matches will pit UA against Miami and Bowling Green for the second time, with Senior Night falling on Saturday, Nov. 5 against the Falcons. The Zips will then close out the regular season on the road at Kent State and Ohio. Last season, the Zips earned their first win over the Bobcats since 2003 in a tight 3-2 battle in Athens.
The MAC Tournament will be held Nov. 18-20 at the SPIRE sports complex in Geneva, Ohio. In a format change from last year, only the top eight teams will advance to the tournament, eliminating the first round matches held at campus sites.
This season, all Friday home matches will begin at 7 p.m. ET, while all Saturday home contests will start at 5 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.
