Women's Volleyball | 6/20/2016 12:08:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY – RIT volleyball head coach Jim Lodes announced the 2016 regular season schedule on Friday, June 24. The Tigers are slated to play 38 contests, including 11 at Clark Gym on campus.
 
RIT will head to weekend tournaments at Springfield College, Case Western Reserve, Baldwin Wallace College, SUNY Fredonia, Carnegie Mellon University, and the New York State Regional Challenge hosted by Hunter College. The Tigers host three single matches, along with the first Liberty League crossover weekend on Sept. 16-17 and the 28th annual RIT Invitational during Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend on Oct. 14-15.
 
"I'm really excited about our schedule this fall," said Lodes, who begins his 12th season overall at RIT and is the university's all-time leader with 292 victories. "We play five teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament, including Springfield and Framingham State on our opening weekend. We also play several teams who were regionally-ranked throughout last season. This should help us prepare to compete with the teams in the Liberty League in our pursuit of a conference championship."
 
The Tigers will be tested right away at the aforementioned Springfield Invitational on Sept. 2-3, where they will open against the hosts, who were a NCAA Tournament team in 2015. In addition, RIT will take on Westfield State University, Gordon College, and Framingham State University. The latter was also a NCAA Tournament qualifier a year ago.
 
RIT will play its first home match against Keuka College on Sept. 6 before competing at the Marcia French Tournament hosted by 2015 NCAA Tournament Participant Case Western and Baldwin Wallace on Sept. 9-10.
 
The Tigers return home the following weekend for the first Liberty League crossover matches to face St. Lawrence University, Clarkson, Bard and Vassar. RIT will head to Bard and Vassar on Sept. 23-24, as well as Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Oct. 7-8 to wrap up league play.
 
Clarkson has won the last five Liberty League Championships. The regular season champion will host the 2016 Liberty League Championship Tournament, which will take place on Nov. 4-5. The winner of the postseason tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. RIT has made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament, the last coming in 2007.  
 
The RIT invitational will also be a highlight, taking place on Oct. 14-15 as part of homecoming weekend. RIT will take on Utica College, Trine University, St. John Fisher College, and DeSales University in what should be a packed Clark Gym.
 
RIT will play a single dual match at the University on Rochester on Sept. 28 and host Nazareth College on Oct. 5 and 2015 NCAA qualifier The College at Brockport on Oct. 25.
 
In addition to the five contests against NCAA Tournament opponents, RIT will also play regionally-ranked opponents Carnegie Mellon, DeSales, SUNY Fredonia, Messiah College, NYU, Stevens, and Union this season.
 
The Tigers finished 21-19 in 2015, advancing to the Liberty League Tournament for the second consecutive season.