2005 Utah Valley State Volleyball Schedule
OREM , Utah - Utah Valley State head women's volleyball coach Sam Atoa announced his team's schedule for the 2005 season on Thursday. The Wolverines will play a 32-match schedule that includes 13 home matches, including four against in-state rivals. The schedule also features home and home matches against five other Division I Independent teams and two matches against 2004 NCAA Tournament teams.
-This is the best schedule we-ve had since we made the jump to Division I,- said Atoa. -We are excited to have such a good home schedule that is spread out throughout the whole season.-
The Wolverines got used to being on the road last season as they played 16 of 21 regular season matches away from the friendly confines of the Activity Center before hosting the Independent Tournament to wrap up the season. Utah Valley posted a 6-10 overall record away from Orem, and finished 5-6 at home. Atoa thinks being at home more in 2005 will help his team.
-Playing in front of a home crowd will give us motivation to step up and play well,- said Atoa. -It-s an added incentive to perform for your fans, family, and friends in a comfortable place.-
The 2005 campaign starts off strong and is highlighted by a home match against Kansas in the Utah Valley/Brigham Young Challenge on September 3 rd. The Jayhawks advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2004 before falling to Washington, a final four team.
The Wolverines will get a chance to welcome three in-state teams to Orem for the first time. Utah (Sept. 20) and Weber State (Sept. 27) come to Orem in September, and Utah State (Oct. 10) makes the trip down from Logan in October. Utah is the other team besides Kansas featured on this year-s schedule that competed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
-It-s always good to play local teams at home,- said Atoa. -It-s tough to win on the road which will give us a chance to make things happen against our in-state rivals.-
Atoa also welcomes four Independent teams to the Activity Center for the first time during the regular season. North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Texas-Pan American, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi all made the trip to Utah last season during the Independent Tournament, but have never come during the regular season.
-We haven-t had the Dakota school or the Texas schools at our place during the regular season,- said Atoa. -We want to make a statement among the other Independent schools and this will give us a chance.-
The Wolverines will co-host the Utah Valley/BYU Challenge to kick off the season on September 2-3 and also play host in the Utah Valley Invitational September 16-17.
Other key matches include a match up at Boise State on September 16 where the Wolverines boast a 2-0 overall record over the Broncos, and a match at BYU on October 18. The Cougars lead the overall series with Utah Valley 2-0. The Wolverines will look to improve on an 11-16 overall mark from last season.
