In-State Rivalry Matches Highlight QU Volleyball 2018 Schedule
6/7/2018 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HAMDEN, Conn. — The Quinnipiac volleyball program will renew several local rivalries, including hosting a two-day Battle of Connecticut at Burt Kahn Court, during its 2018 schedule, which was released by Head Coach Kris Czaplinski today.
The Battle of Connecticut will be held on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, and will see the Bobcats entertain Central Connecticut (Aug. 31, 6 p.m.) and Sacred Heart (Sept. 1, 11 a.m.), while Hartford and Fairfield will also meet in a neutral-site match at Burt Kahn Court. Quinnipiac will be facing both Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart for the first time since they were Northeast Conference rivals in 2012.
Before hosting the Battle of Connecticut, the Bobcats will travel to the Army Invitational (facing San Francisco, Army and Texas-San Antonio) and then head to Storrs to face UConn on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The Bobcats and Huskies will be meeting for the first time since 2006 as they renew another in-state rivalry that has been dormant for 12 years.
Quinnipiac's final tournament before conference play begins will be in Rhode Island at the Bryant Invitational on Sept. 7-8. The Bobcats will open that tournament against Coppin State on Friday and will then battle Middle Tennessee State and Bryant on Saturday. Quinnipiac has had a couple of exciting matches with Bryant over the last two years, winning a 25-16, 25-23, 25-23 battle at home in 2016 and then suffering a narrow 25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 26-24 defeat last year on the road.
The Bobcats will open MAAC play with a road trip to Rider and Saint Peter's on Sept. 15-16. The Bobcats swept both teams last year, including a thrilling 3-2 win at Rider behind a team-high 17 kills from Kaleigh Oates. Quinnipiac also defeated the Broncs 3-1 at home behind 51 assists in four sets from Maria Pansari.
After opening MAAC play, the Bobcats will step out of conference for one final tune-up against Maryland-Eastern Shore at home on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m., before hosting Iona and Manhattan in its first league matches at Burt Kahn Court on Sept. 22-23. The Bobcats will look to turn the tables with Iona after the Gaels went 3-0 head-to-head last year, including a 3-2 win in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament. Quinnipiac swept the Jaspers last year, including its first win at Manhattan in MAAC play, a quick 3-0 sweep that featured a team-high 10 kills from Jen Coffey.
The Bobcats then have a quirky closing stretch to the conference schedule, with seven straight road matches, followed by seven straight at home to close out the year. The road swing begins on Friday, Sept. 28 (7 p.m.) with the program's most significant in-state rivalry against conference foe Fairfield, which defeated the Bobcats in the 2016 MAAC Championship match. The Stags, who have won 50 MAAC matches in a row on their way to three straight league titles, are the only team left in the conference that Quinnipiac has never defeated.
The road swing then takes the Bobcats to Niagara and Canisius on Oct. 6-7. A year ago, the Bobcats won a huge 3-2 road contest at Canisius as Natalie Alechko recorded 25 kills, including nine in a 20-18 fifth set. That win, and the 3-1 win over the Golden Griffins in the rematch, were the difference the Bobcats earning a MAAC Tournament bid for the second year in a row.
A midweek road trip to Marist on Wednesday, Oct. 10 is followed by the second meetings with Manhattan and Iona (on the road) on Oct. 13-14, before the swing of seven straight road matches concludes on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Siena.
With the road schedule behind them, the Bobcats will try to make a strong closing push with their last seven matches at home, beginning with the return visits from Saint Peter's and Rider on Oct. 20-21 (both 1 p.m.). A home tussle with Fairfield will take place on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in what could be one of the biggest matches of the year for Quinnipiac.
Marist and Siena make the trip to Hamden on Nov. 3-4 for the second-to-last conference weekend. The Bobcats won the home meeting with Siena last year 3-0 but dropped their home match with Marist. Two years ago, Quinnipiac defeated Marist at home 3-2 (18-16 in the fifth) in a thriller at Burt Kahn and then defeated the Red Foxes 3-1 in the MAAC Semifinals (26-24 in the fourth set) to reach the championship match, but Marist swept the season series last fall.
For the second year in a row, the Bobcats end the regular season with Niagara and Canisius coming to town on Nov. 10-11 for 1 p.m. matches. Last year's final weekend saw a 3-1 win over the Golden Griffins clinch a MAAC Tournament bid for the Bobcats, behind double-digit kills from Alechko (19), Lauren Miller (12) and Oates (10).
The stakes won't be as high on the final weekend this year as all 10 league teams will qualify for the 2018 MAAC Tournament, which will be held in Kissimmee, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex from Nov. 15-18. The winner of that four-day event will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament, which has gone to Fairfield the past three years.
Quinnipiac will hope to unseat the Stags atop the league's standings this year after an injury-plagued 2017 campaign that derailed the program's aspirations early on. Coffey, a first-team All-MAAC selection in 2016, missed the final seven weeks of the 2017 season but will return for her senior year. Coffey and Miller, a junior, give the Bobcats two experienced hitters on the outside. Alechko is also back on the outside for her junior year after earning second-team All-MAAC honors last year, along with fellow juniors Pansari at setter and Alejandra Rodriguez at libero. Sophomores Morgan Sherwin (outside), Gabby Horman (middle) and Haley Anderson (defensive specialist) will also look to see their roles expand after making regular contributions last fall.
To view the full 2018 Quinnipiac Volleyball schedule, go to the following link:
2018 Schedule
The Battle of Connecticut will be held on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, and will see the Bobcats entertain Central Connecticut (Aug. 31, 6 p.m.) and Sacred Heart (Sept. 1, 11 a.m.), while Hartford and Fairfield will also meet in a neutral-site match at Burt Kahn Court. Quinnipiac will be facing both Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart for the first time since they were Northeast Conference rivals in 2012.
Before hosting the Battle of Connecticut, the Bobcats will travel to the Army Invitational (facing San Francisco, Army and Texas-San Antonio) and then head to Storrs to face UConn on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The Bobcats and Huskies will be meeting for the first time since 2006 as they renew another in-state rivalry that has been dormant for 12 years.
Quinnipiac's final tournament before conference play begins will be in Rhode Island at the Bryant Invitational on Sept. 7-8. The Bobcats will open that tournament against Coppin State on Friday and will then battle Middle Tennessee State and Bryant on Saturday. Quinnipiac has had a couple of exciting matches with Bryant over the last two years, winning a 25-16, 25-23, 25-23 battle at home in 2016 and then suffering a narrow 25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 26-24 defeat last year on the road.
The Bobcats will open MAAC play with a road trip to Rider and Saint Peter's on Sept. 15-16. The Bobcats swept both teams last year, including a thrilling 3-2 win at Rider behind a team-high 17 kills from Kaleigh Oates. Quinnipiac also defeated the Broncs 3-1 at home behind 51 assists in four sets from Maria Pansari.
After opening MAAC play, the Bobcats will step out of conference for one final tune-up against Maryland-Eastern Shore at home on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m., before hosting Iona and Manhattan in its first league matches at Burt Kahn Court on Sept. 22-23. The Bobcats will look to turn the tables with Iona after the Gaels went 3-0 head-to-head last year, including a 3-2 win in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament. Quinnipiac swept the Jaspers last year, including its first win at Manhattan in MAAC play, a quick 3-0 sweep that featured a team-high 10 kills from Jen Coffey.
The Bobcats then have a quirky closing stretch to the conference schedule, with seven straight road matches, followed by seven straight at home to close out the year. The road swing begins on Friday, Sept. 28 (7 p.m.) with the program's most significant in-state rivalry against conference foe Fairfield, which defeated the Bobcats in the 2016 MAAC Championship match. The Stags, who have won 50 MAAC matches in a row on their way to three straight league titles, are the only team left in the conference that Quinnipiac has never defeated.
The road swing then takes the Bobcats to Niagara and Canisius on Oct. 6-7. A year ago, the Bobcats won a huge 3-2 road contest at Canisius as Natalie Alechko recorded 25 kills, including nine in a 20-18 fifth set. That win, and the 3-1 win over the Golden Griffins in the rematch, were the difference the Bobcats earning a MAAC Tournament bid for the second year in a row.
A midweek road trip to Marist on Wednesday, Oct. 10 is followed by the second meetings with Manhattan and Iona (on the road) on Oct. 13-14, before the swing of seven straight road matches concludes on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Siena.
With the road schedule behind them, the Bobcats will try to make a strong closing push with their last seven matches at home, beginning with the return visits from Saint Peter's and Rider on Oct. 20-21 (both 1 p.m.). A home tussle with Fairfield will take place on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in what could be one of the biggest matches of the year for Quinnipiac.
Marist and Siena make the trip to Hamden on Nov. 3-4 for the second-to-last conference weekend. The Bobcats won the home meeting with Siena last year 3-0 but dropped their home match with Marist. Two years ago, Quinnipiac defeated Marist at home 3-2 (18-16 in the fifth) in a thriller at Burt Kahn and then defeated the Red Foxes 3-1 in the MAAC Semifinals (26-24 in the fourth set) to reach the championship match, but Marist swept the season series last fall.
For the second year in a row, the Bobcats end the regular season with Niagara and Canisius coming to town on Nov. 10-11 for 1 p.m. matches. Last year's final weekend saw a 3-1 win over the Golden Griffins clinch a MAAC Tournament bid for the Bobcats, behind double-digit kills from Alechko (19), Lauren Miller (12) and Oates (10).
The stakes won't be as high on the final weekend this year as all 10 league teams will qualify for the 2018 MAAC Tournament, which will be held in Kissimmee, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex from Nov. 15-18. The winner of that four-day event will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament, which has gone to Fairfield the past three years.
Quinnipiac will hope to unseat the Stags atop the league's standings this year after an injury-plagued 2017 campaign that derailed the program's aspirations early on. Coffey, a first-team All-MAAC selection in 2016, missed the final seven weeks of the 2017 season but will return for her senior year. Coffey and Miller, a junior, give the Bobcats two experienced hitters on the outside. Alechko is also back on the outside for her junior year after earning second-team All-MAAC honors last year, along with fellow juniors Pansari at setter and Alejandra Rodriguez at libero. Sophomores Morgan Sherwin (outside), Gabby Horman (middle) and Haley Anderson (defensive specialist) will also look to see their roles expand after making regular contributions last fall.
To view the full 2018 Quinnipiac Volleyball schedule, go to the following link:
2018 Schedule
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's VolleyballVolleyball vs. Niagara (10.4)
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Volleyball vs Marist
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