GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Fighting Sioux fans will get a glimpse of the 2010 edition of the University of North Dakota volleyball team right out of the gate.
The reigning Great West Conference champions open their season at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center for the first time since the 2005 season. The home-opener against San Jose State is slated for August 27 at 1 p.m.
The match with the Spartans is part of a five-team, round-robin tournament that will feature eight matches in two days on UND's home court. The remaining field for the UND Volleyball Tournament includes Gonzaga, Cal-State Bakersfield and Drake.
The home tournament is the first of four preseason events the Sioux will play in the opening stretch before traveling to South Dakota on Sept. 25 to launch their quest for back-to-back Great West crowns.
“We have a great schedule lined up that includes some real intriguing matches,” UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. “We play schools from eight different conferences and renew the rivalry with North Dakota State, so we are real excited about the challenges that await us.”
The Sioux will also play in tournaments at Drake (Sept. 2-4), at Montana (Sept. 10-11) and at North Dakota State (Sept. 16-18). The match with the Bison on Sept. 16 in Fargo will be the first between the two in-state rivals since 2003.
UND captured the inaugural regular season crown with an 11-1 record in GWC games a season ago. The Sioux then capped the year with a program best 12-match winning streak when they defeated Utah Valley in four games to win the inaugural conference tournament in Houston.
The Sioux will face the Wolverines at home on Oct. 2 and travel to Utah for a match on Oct. 30.
The road contest with UVU will be followed by the only non-conference match in the closing stretch of the schedule at Southern Utah (Nov. 1).
UND opens October with four-consecutive home matches against Great West foes, then closes out play at 'The Betty' on Nov. 4 and 6 with matches against league members Chicago State and NJIT, respectively.
After wrapping up the regular season in the Lone Star State at Houston Baptist (Nov. 11) and Texas-Pan American (Nov. 13), the Sioux will turn their sites to the Windy City where the 2010 league tournament will be played Nov. 18-20 at Chicago State.
AUGUST
27 SAN JOSE STATE# (Grand Forks, N.D.; 1 p.m.)
27 GONZAGA# (Grand Forks, N.D.; 7 p.m.)
28 CAL-STATE BAKERSFIELD# (Grand Forks, N.D.; 12 p.m.)
28 DRAKE# (Grand Forks, N.D.; 7:30 p.m.)
SEPTEMBER
2 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Des Moines; Iowa, 7 p.m.)
3 vs. Southern Utah! (Des Moines, Iowa; 5 p.m.)
4 Eastern Michigan! (Des Moines, Iowa; 2 p.m.)
4 at Drake! (Des Moines, Iowa; 7:30 p.m.)
10 vs. Temple^ (Missoula, Mont.; 5:30 p.m.)
11 at Montana^ (Missoula, Mont.; 1 p.m.)
11 vs. Utah State^ (Missoula, Mont.; 5:30 p.m.)
16 at North Dakota State$ (Fargo, N.D.; 7 p.m.)
17 vs. South Dakota State$ (Fargo, N.D.; 4:30 p.m.)
18 vs. South Dakota$ (Fargo, N.D.; 11 a.m.)
18 vs. Tulsa$ (Fargo, N.D.; 5 p.m.)
25 at South Dakota* (Vermillion, S.D.; 5 p.m.)
OCTOBER
2 UTAH VALLEY* (Grand Forks; 7 p.m.)
7 TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN* (Grand Forks; 7 p.m.)
9 HOUSTON BAPTIST* (Grand Forks; 1 p.m.)
14 SOUTH DAKOTA* (Grand Forks; 7 p.m.)
21 at NJIT* (Newark, N.J.; 6 p.m.)
23 at Chicago State* (Chicago, Ill.; 2 p.m.)
30 at Utah Valley* (Orem, Utah; 4 p.m.)
NOVEMBER
1 at Southern Utah (Sandy Lake, Utah; 8 p.m.)
4 CHICAGO STATE* (Grand Forks; 7 p.m.)
6 NJIT* (Grand Forks; 4 p.m.)
11 at Houston Baptist* (Houston, Texas; 7 p.m.)
13 at Texas-Pan American* (Edinburg, Texas; 2 p.m.)
18 Great West Tournament (Chicago, Ill.; TBA)
19 Great West Tournament (Chicago, Ill.; TBA)
20 Great West Tournament (Chicago, Ill.; TBA)
All games subject to change
Home games in CAPS
# denotes UND Tournament
! denotes Hampton Inn Drake Invitational
^ denotes Montana Tournament
$ denotes North Dakota State Tournament
