Princeton University Athletics
Volleyball Schedule Includes Eight Matches v. Top-15 Foes In Final '14 Poll
October 15, 2014 | Men's Volleyball
2015 MEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
One year after reaching the EIVA Championship match, Princeton men's volleyball head coach Sam Shweisky loaded his men's volleyball schedule with a number of Top-15 opponents in hopes of getting his team prepared for what he believes could be another exciting postseason run.
Princeton has eight matches scheduled against teams that were in the final AVCA Division I-II men's poll, including each of Princeton's first five matches.
The Tigers open three weeks earlier than usual, as they were invited to compete in the 2015 UCSB ASICS Invitational at UC-Santa Barbara (Jan. 9-10). Princeton will play matches against Long Beach (No. 7), UC-Santa Barbara (No. 5) and Cal-State Northridge (No. 15) during the weekend.
Princeton returns to California three weeks later, following the University exam break, and will open with matches against both UCLA (No. 9) and UC-Irvine (No. 6). Princeton will also face UC-San Diego during the trip.
The Tigers return home and begin their EIVA season Feb. 6 at NJIT; they follow with six straight home matches, including league showdowns against 2014 EIVA semifinalists Harvard (Feb. 13) and George Mason (Feb. 27).
Princeton heads to MIVA territory in mid-March for showdowns at Ohio State and Ball State (No. 13), and then travels to State College for its first of two regular-season matchups against EIVA champion Penn State (No. 8). The Nittany Lions will return to Dillon Gym, site of one of Princeton's most electric nights of the 2013-14 athletic season, April 17.
“Our first six matches are top level MPSF schools which we are very excited about," head coach Sam Shweisky said. "It will be a great opportunity to travel west early in the season and see where we stack up with some of the best teams in the country. Our spring break trip to Ohio State and Ball State provides some great mid-season MIVA contests that should be very exciting. We can't wait to get going.”
The EIVA playoffs will be held April 29-May 1 at the site of the top-seeded team, and the NCAA playoffs will be held May 5-9 at Stanford.
Princeton hopes an overseas journey this fall will lay the foundation that ends in Palo Alto. The Tigers head to Nicaragua during the University fall break week and will compete in the Sports Imports Invitational against teams from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
“We are so excited to get to go Nicaragua for our first ever international trip," Shweisky said. "The experience will be a great one for team bonding, community service and great volleyball. BringItUsa tour guide extraordinaire Tim Kelly is helping to bring in Honduras as well as El Salvador National teams for us to compete with alongside the Nicaraguan national team. It is going to be a great trip.”