Volleyball | 5/15/2013 2:33:00 PM

2013 WOU VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE - CLICK HERE

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon head volleyball coach Brad Saindon released the 2013 WOU volleyball schedule on Wednesday as the Wolves will play 14 matches at home during the 2013 season. In addition to the 18-match Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule, the Wolves will play host to the six-team Western Oregon Invitational to open the season and will travel to Denver, Colo., for the Colorado School of Mines Invitational.

“The non-conference schedule is as tough as we have ever had and will test our team as we prepare for conference play,” head coach Brad Saindon said. “Our conference will be extremely competitive next year and this schedule will give us the opportunity to face quality competition each night.”

WOU opens the 2013 season hosting the Western Oregon Invitational from Sept. 5-7, 2013. The invitational is a six-team, round-robin style invite that features teams from around the country. The 2013 version of the annual event features Cal State East Bay, Holy Names, Metro State, Minnesota State and Western Washington.

The invitational features two teams (Western Washington, Metro State) that advanced to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships a year ago as the Wolves open the season on Thursday, Sept. 5, against Holy Names at 10:00 a.m.

“We look forward to hosting the Western Oregon invitational for the second straight year,” Saindon said. “This should be an outstanding and highly-competitive invitational. It features some of the top programs from throughout the nation and will be a great way to start the season.”

Following the Western Oregon Invitational, the Wolves host a non-conference match against Willamette (Sept. 11) before travelling to the Colorado School of Mines Invitational in Denver, Colo. The invitational features matches against Colorado School of Mines (Sept. 13), Tarleton State (Sept. 13), Texas Woman's University (Sept. 14) and Washburn (Sept. 14) as each opponent won over 20 games during the 2012 season.

It all leads up to GNAC play as the Wolves open the conference season at home against Central Washington on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7:00 p.m.

“We have a very good team coming back and we should be in the hunt for the league title throughout the season,” Saindon said. “I know our team is very excited for the start of fall practice.”

Other highlights of the conference home slate include a match against defending conference champion WWU on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7:00 p.m. as well as the final home contest of the season on Saturday, Nov. 16, against Seattle Pacific.

WOU returns five starters from last season's squad that finished the 2012 season 21-6 overall and in second place in the GNAC with a 14-4 mark.