Schedule

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The three-time defending MAAC champion volleyball team has announced its 2012 schedule.

Niagara, led by first-year head coach Dottie Porch, returns six letterwinners from last season’s team including MAAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kari Honomichl and All-MAAC Second Team performer Ellen Senf. 

Niagara will face five teams the program has never played before during its non-conference schedule while playing in three in-season tournaments.  The Purple Eagles open the season in Philadelphia at the LaSalle Tournament, the venue where NU opened its 2010 campaign. NU will face LaSalle and Loyola (Ill.) on Aug. 25 and Bucknell on August 26.

NU will then head to Fairfax, Va. to participate in the George Mason Invitational where it will play Navy (Sept. 1) and will have it first-ever meeting with George Mason (Sept. 1) and South Carolina (Sept. 2). The Purple Eagles’ final in-season tournament is in Athens, Ohio where they will face three first-time opponents in the host, Ohio, and Montana State on Sept. 7 and Belmont on Sept. 8.

“Defending a title is tough and defending it for the fourth straight time is even tougher, but I believe our preseason tournament schedule will get us prepared for another run at our fourth MAAC championship,” Porch said.  “Playing top ranked teams like Ohio (MAC), Syracuse (Big East) and South Carolina (SEC) will give us the challenge we need. It will be hard being on the road for the first month of the season, but I believe that will help us in the long run.  If we can take care of business on the road it will make playing at home even sweeter.”

The Purple Eagles begin their quest for a third straight regular season conference title on the road against Siena (Sept. 15) and Marist (Sept. 16). NU plays its first home game of the season on Sept. 22 when it faces Rider on camper’s day with a clinic following the match. The Purple Eagles will host Loyola on Sept. 23.

NU will head back on the road when it embarks on a four-game road trip beginning at in-state rival Syracuse (Sept. 26), who NU defeated for the first time in program history in a five-set thriller last season. The Purple and White will venture to the New York metro area for a MAAC weekend versus Manhattan (Sept. 29) and Saint Peter’s (Sept. 30).  The four-game road trip concludes with a Battle of the Bridge clash with Canisius on Saturday, Oct. 6.

The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center for their longest home stretch of the season. NU begins it slate of five straight home matches against Iona on Oct. 13 before facing Fairfield on Oct. 14 in the rematch of the 2011 MAAC Championship. The second Battle of the Bridge match against Canisius will be a mid-week encounter on Oct. 17 at the Gallagher Center. The annual Dig Pink match will be on Saturday, Oct. 20 versus Marist and there will be a postmatch clinic.  Niagara wraps up its homestand against Siena on Oct. 21.

NU hits the road for a pair of conference matches against Loyola (Oct. 27) and Rider (Oct. 28) before returning home to close out the home portion of the schedule versus Saint Peter’s (Nov. 3) and Manhattan (Nov. 4). The Purple Eagles close out the regular season at Fairfield (Nov. 10) and Iona (Nov. 11).

“I know the conference teams will be well prepared and ready to play this fall,” Porch stated.  “We will prepare and work hard during preseason to be ready to take on all challengers and bring our best every time we step on the court.   I look forward to the season and showing what this Niagara volleyball team is all about.”

The 2012 MAAC Volleyball Championship will be from Nov. 17-18 on the campus of Fairfield University.

Since winning its first MAAC Tournament in 2009, the Purple Eagles are 39-2 against MAAC opponents including a pair of regular season and tournament championships.