Rockets Commence 2013 Season with Blue-Gold Invitational on Aug. 30-Sept. 1
5/28/2013 4:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
TOLEDO, OH — The University of Toledo volleyball program released its 2013 schedule on Tuesday, and the Rockets will open up their campaign hosting the three-day Blue-Gold Invitational on Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
“Our schedule is going to help us prepare for Mid-American Conference play by exposing us to a variety of different playing styles,” fifth-year Head Coach Greg Smith said. “It's exciting to start our season at home with the Blue-Gold Invitational with a field that includes West Virginia, Marist, Loyola (IL) and Eastern Illinois.”
After opening its pre-conference slate in Savage Arena, the Rockets will hit the road for three straight tournaments. UT begins its three-week road stretch at Youngstown State (Sept. 6-7) with a field that includes St. Francis (PA), Tulane and the host Penguins. Toledo will then make a cross-country trip for the Portland/Oregon State Challenge (Sept. 13-14) to face UC-Davis as well as the Pilots and Beavers. The Rockets' final non-conference tourney will be at Butler (Sept. 20-21) with the competition consisting of Green Bay, Tennessee-Martin and the host Bulldogs.
Toledo begins conference play with matches on the road at Central Michigan (Sept. 27) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 28) before hosting its next four MAC contests - Ball State (Oct. 3), Akron (Oct. 5), Northern Illinois (Oct. 11) and Western Michigan (Oct. 12) - with a roadtrip to IPFW (Oct. 8) sandwiched in between. UT will then play four straight MAC East Division opponents, visiting Ohio (Oct. 18) and Kent State (Oct. 19) before entertaining Miami (Oct. 25) and Bowling Green (Oct. 26).
The Rockets wrap up their home campaign against EMU (Nov. 2) and CMU (Nov. 3) with their last four matches away from the friendly confines of Savage Arena.
Toledo is returning eight letterwinners and all six starters from last year's squad, including senior MB Dakota Harkins who earned second-team All-MAC honors last fall. She ranked fourth in the MAC with 1.06 blocks per set and sixth with a .296 attack percentage.
UT's other returning starters include senior OH Jordan Kielty (1.73 kps/2.25 dps), senior OH Lauren Rafdal (3.18 kps/2.07 dps), senior RSH Becca Reidy (2.20 kps/0.68 bps), senior S Adria Pryor (10.41 aps/2.22 dps) and junior MB Brooke Frazer (1.34 kps/0.76 bps).
The 2013 MAC Tournament will be held at the SPIRE Sports Complex in Geneva, OH for a third-straight season.
