Volleyball Releases 2015 Schedule
July 02, 2015 02:09 PM | Volleyball
 |
| Lyons |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons announced the Mountaineer volleyball schedule for the 2015 season on Thursday.
“We are excited to compete this fall,” said coach Reed Sunahara, who took over the program this March. “I think this is a competitive schedule that includes 12 matches against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last season. We will be tested early to see where we stand, which is a benefit when you play in a league as challenging as the Big 12. I’m looking forward to the start of WVU Volleyball.”
Fans will get a sneak peek at the team on August 22, when the Mountaineers host their annual Gold/Blue Scrimmage at the WVU Coliseum. The Reed Sunahara era will officially open the following weekend when West Virginia travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 28-29 for the Michigan Invitational, where they will face Oakland in a Friday evening match up before taking on George Washington and the host Wolverines on Saturday at Cliff Keen Arena. WVU is 4-1 all-time against Oakland, having last faced the Golden Grizzlies in 2009 and won the only prior meeting with Michigan back in 1989. GWU leads the series 17-7, with the most recent meeting coming in 2008.
The Mountaineers will compete in the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational at The Jungle in Indianapolis, Indiana, on September 4 and 5. Following a Friday contest with first-time opponent Eastern Michigan, the team will face another first-time foe in the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday morning before closing out the tournament against the host Jaguars Saturday evening, looking to make it 2-0 against IUPUI after a 3-0 victory in Morgantown last season.
September 11-12 WVU will travel to Hanover, New Hampshire, for a pair of matches at the Dartmouth Tournament at Berry Sports Center. The Mountaineers will face the host Big Green on Friday in the first meeting between the two programs, and will take on former Big East foe UConn on Saturday evening. The Huskies own a 16-3 series lead, though the two have not met since WVU left the Big East in 2011.
West Virginia will open its home slate on September 15 when the Mountaineers welcome in-state rival Marshall to the WVU Coliseum for a 6 p.m. match. WVU leads the all-time series 28-19, though the Thundering Herd took a 3-0 win in Huntington last season.
Hitting the road once again, WVU will wrap up tournament play at the Winthrop Invitational from September 18-19. The Mountaineers will open the tournament on Friday evening with a match against the host Eagles, who they last faced in 2008 and lead 1-0. On Saturday, the squad will face Davidson in the morning match before finishing the tournament with an afternoon match versus Murray State, who leads the all-time series 2-1.
Big 12 play will open September 25 when West Virginia hosts perennial contender Texas at the Coliseum in a 6 p.m. match. The Mountaineers nearly upset the No. 2 Longhorns last season, taking the first two sets before dropping the final three in heartbreaking fashion in a match that was televised on ESPN. The team will then welcome TCU to Morgantown on September 30 for 6 p.m. contest. The two went to five sets in the last meeting at WVU Coliseum, with the Mountaineers taking the match, 3-2.
The Mountaineers head to Lawrence, Kansas, on October 3 for an evening match with the Kansas Jayhawks before returning to Morgantown to close out their nonconference slate. WVU will host Robert Morris in a 6 p.m. match on October 7 and will look to extend the 19-4 series lead over the Colonials.
Resuming league action, West Virginia travels to Kansas for a match at Kansas State on October 10. The Mountaineers closed last season with a thrilling five-set upset over the Wildcats in Manhattan, marking their first-ever win over a top-25 RPI program.
West Virginia heads back to Morgantown to a host a pair of Texas teams in mid-October. The Mountaineers welcome Texas Tech to WVU Coliseum for a 6 p.m. match on October 14 after sweeping the Red Raiders in 2014. Baylor will make its way to Morgantown on October 17 for a 3:30 p.m. contest. The Mountaineers also took both matches from the Bears last season.
The Mountaineers will travel to Ames, Iowa, on October 21 for an evening contest against Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. Following their meeting with the Cyclones, they return home for a pair of contests, first hosting Oklahoma on October 24 in a 3:30 p.m. game. The team will then face Kansas State for the second time in 2015, welcoming the Wildcats to Morgantown on October 28 at 6 p.m.
Hitting the road for five of the last seven games of the season, WVU heads to Texas for a pair of matches to start November. The Mountaineers will face Texas in Austin on November 5 before heading to Waco on November 7 to wrap up their season series against Baylor. They return home on November 11 to take on Iowa State in Morgantown in a 6 p.m. start.
The squad travels to Lubbock, Texas, on November 13 to face Texas Tech for the second time. Following their tilt with the Red Raiders, the Mountaineers return to WVU Coliseum to cap their home slate with a 6 p.m. match against Kansas on November 21.
West Virginia travels to Norman, Oklahoma, on November 25 to face the Sooners before heading to Texas for Thanksgiving. The team will conclude the regular season on November 27 when they face TCU in Fort Worth.
Check WVUsports.com for up-to-date match times.
VB: BYU Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 04
2025 Volleyball Coal Rush Uniform Reveal
Thursday, October 02
Jen Greeny | Sept. 23 | ESPN+ Halftime Interview
Tuesday, September 30
VB: Dolphin Volleyball Classic Cinematic Recap
Sunday, September 21
