Mount Union Announces 2012 Volleyball Schedule

ALLIANCE, Ohio—Seven home dates, a pair of out-of-state tournaments, and nine matches against teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament highlight the 2012 Mount Union volleyball schedule.

The reigning Ohio Athletic Conference champions open the season with four matches at the Capital/Otterbein Tournament on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1. Their opponents for the weekend include Calvin (Mich.), who spent last season as the nation's top-ranked team before falling in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and Hope (Mich.), who finished last year ranked No. 14.

Mount Union will take the first of two trips out of the state the following weekend when it heads to Nazareth College (Rochester, N.Y.) for the Golden Flyer Invitational. Among the four matches for the weekend are contests with host Nazareth and Cortland State (N.Y.), both NCAA Tournament squads a season ago. The Raiders split with them while going 3-1 at the invitational a year ago.

The home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, September 12 at 7 p.m. against Case Western Reserve. They will then play three matches that weekend at the Kenyon Classic, including a rematch from last season's NCAA Tournament against Juniata (Pa.). The following week, the Raiders will face another NCAA Tournament qualifier when Geneva (Pa.) visits Alliance on September 18.

The University of Chicago Classic from September 21-22 will serve as the final tune-up before beginning OAC play. The trip to the "Windy City" will be highlighted by a match against national semifinalist Carthage (Wis.).

A home match against Ohio Northern opens the OAC slate on Saturday, September 29 at 4 p.m. Six of the next eight matches will be on the road before concluding conference play against defending regular season champion Heidelberg on Friday, October 26 at 4 p.m. The Raiders will host Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) and DePauw (Ind.) in a tri-match the following day beginning at noon.

The Raiders will then defend their conference crown in the OAC Tournament. First round matches will be played on Tuesday, October 30 and the final is set for Saturday, November 3.

Head coach Leigh Ann Swartz led Mount Union to the school's first-ever OAC Tournament title last season. The Raiders advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 25-8 record. A pair of All-OAC Second Team selections in junior outside hitter Taylor Webb (Geneva/Geneva) and sophomore right side hitter Nicole Snyder (Mentor/Lake Catholic) lead a team that loses just one player from a year ago.