Ladyjacks Release 2016 Volleyball Schedule
6/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
2016 Ladyjacks Volleyball Schedule
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The 29-match 2016 schedule for the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team was announced on Wednesday morning by head coach Debbie Humphreys. In addition to their 16-match Southland Conference slate, the Ladyjacks will face off against 13 non-conference opponents from nine different leagues including the Big 12, American Athletic Conference and Conference USA among others.
“We are excited about the 2016 season and we will be challenged every step of the way because we want our team to understand that you must show up ready to compete at a high level every single night,” Humphreys said. “We wanted to set that standard with our pre-season schedule, because we know it will be that way once SLC play begins. We will embrace the challenge before us and I have no doubt we will see tremendous growth from start to finish.”
The Ladyjacks will open up their 2016 slate by making a journey to Green Bay, Wis., to take part in three matches at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Tournament. SFA will do battle with representatives from the Ohio Valley Conference, the Summit League and the Horizon League while in Wisconsin, beginning with a season-opening showdown with Eastern Illinois on August 26.
Also on that date, the Ladyjacks will play South Dakota State before finishing off their UW-Green Bay Tournament schedule by playing the host Phoenix on August 27. From there, SFA returns to Texas and will take part in a trio of matches at the Texas State Tournament in San Marcos on September 2-3. Opposing the Ladyjacks on their first day of competition will be Texas State and Tulsa before SFA plays Kennesaw State for the first time in program history on September 3.
On September 6, the Ladyjacks will make their 2016 Shelton Gym debut by hosting Sun Belt foe Louisiana-Monroe before hitting the road again. Lubbock, Texas, is the destination for that trip where SFA is set to play three matches in the Texas Tech Tournament on September 9-10. SFA will face Oral Roberts (2 p.m.) and the host Red Raiders (6 p.m.) on day one of that tournament before closing out their stay in Lubbock with a 4 p.m. tilt against UT-Rio Grande Valley the following afternoon.
Following their lengthy road-heavy stretch to open 2016, SFA hunkers down in Shelton Gym for a period of seven-straight matches, beginning with their Southland Conference opener against Incarnate Word on September 15 (6:30 p.m.). The following evening will signal the beginning of the SFA Tournament which pits the Ladyjacks against North Texas on September 16 and Little Rock on September 17. On September 21, SFA put the wraps on its non-conference schedule by hosting Baylor at 6:30 p.m.
SLC combatants Sam Houston State (Sept. 21, 1 p.m.), McNeese (Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m.) and Nicholls (Oct. 1, 1 p.m.) will all pay a visit to Shelton Gym in the final three matches of SFA’s seven-match home stand. Following their longest home stretch of the season, the Ladyjacks go on the road for three-straight league bouts beginning with an Oct. 6 matchup against defending conference regular season and tournament champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6:30 p.m.).
San Antonio and Abilene are the next pair of destination for SFA as they will face Incarnate Word (11 a.m.) and Abilene Christian (6:30 p.m.) on October 8 and 13 respectively. Of the four remaining October matches on its schedule, SFA will play two at home beginning with a 6:30 p.m. duel with Central Arkansas on Oct. 20 and followed by a 1 p.m. match against Northwestern State on Oct. 22.
Trips to Lamar (7 p.m.) and Houston Baptist (1 p.m.) on Oct. 27 and 29 close out SFA’s month of October while a short journey to Sam Houston State (6:30 p.m.) on November 1 begins its five-match regular season schedule in that month.
A pair of Louisiana institutions come to Nacogdoches for the Ladyjacks’ only pair of November home matches. New Orleans (6:30 p.m.) and Southeastern Louisiana (Noon) are SFA’s opponents on November 3 and 5 respectively before the Ladyjacks embark on a final road trip of the 2016 regular season that sends them to Northwestern State (7 p.m.) on November 10 and Central Arkansas (Noon) on November 12.
Each of SFA’s 12 home matches will be streamed live online and as Stephen F. Austin enters the second full year of its partnership with ESPN and the ESPN3 platform, 10 of those matches will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Greg Miller on the call. Additionally, Miller will be on the road for 11 of the 17 matches away from Shelton Gym providing play-by-play and analysis from SFAVolleyblog.net. The only road matches that will not be carried on SFAVolleyblog.net are at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Tournament (August 26-27), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Oct. 6), Abilene Christian (Oct. 13) and Central Arkansas (Nov. 12).
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