TOLEDO, OH - The University of Toledo volleyball program released its 2007 schedule today, highlighted by a home match against the University of Illinois. The Rockets will also be hosting the seventh-annual Rocket Volleyball Classic at Savage Hall on Aug. 24-25. The tournament will feature matchups against IUPUI and Xavier on the first day of the tournament followed by Bradley and Cleveland State on the second day.

"I'm excited about our non-conference schedule," UT Head Coach Kent Miller said. "Our schedule this season is not quite as tough as last year's, and I think it will give us a good opportunity to figure out some positions and lineups before we start conference play."

Following the Rocket Classic, Toledo will continue its non-conference slate with tournaments in the first two weekends of September. UT will first head to the West Coast to compete at UC-Irvine's tournament on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 where it will face Portland, Wyoming and the host Anteaters. The Rockets will then travel to Rochester, MI to compete in the Oakland Invitational with LaSalle, St. Francis (PA) and the host Golden Grizzlies on Sept. 7-8. Toledo will conclude its non-conference schedule vs. the Fighting Illini on Sept. 15 prior to opening its Mid-American Conference campaign.

"We don't get the chance to host a team like Illinois every year and we're very excited about this opportunity," said Miller, who will be entering his 11th season at the helm of UT's volleyball program. "Illinois dealt with a lot of injuries last year, and I expect them to be an improved team this season that will present a big challenge for us. We'll have to play our hearts out against them to be successful, and it will be a great tuneup for the MAC season."

The Rockets return four starters from last year's squad that advanced to the MAC semifinals for a second straight season. UT will feature three attackers from last year's squad that posted .240 attack percentages or better. Senior outside hitter Sarah Kreher leads the way for Toledo with a .256 hitting percentage and 3.21 kills per game last year followed by junior outside hitter Shannon Strachan (.244 ATK%, 2.73 kpg) and sophomore middle blocker Liz Sundberg (.240 ATK%, 1.66 kpg).

Toledo will open its conference season with a pair of road matches vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 21) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 22) before playing its next four matches at home vs. Ball State (Sept. 27), Akron (Sept. 29), Northern Illinois (Oct. 5) and Western Michigan (Oct. 6). The Rockets will then visit Kent State (Oct. 12) and Ohio (Oct. 13) before closing out their home campaign vs. Bowling Green (Oct. 19), Miami (Oct. 20), Eastern Michigan (Oct. 26) and Central Michigan (Oct. 27). UT will finish its season with four road contests at Ball State (Nov. 1), Buffalo (Nov. 3), Western Michigan (Nov. 9) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 10).

The MAC Tournament begins with first-round matches at campus sites on Nov. 13 with the remainder of the tournament being hosted by the Seagate Centre on Nov. 16-18 in downtown Toledo.