Second year North Dakota volleyball head coach
Jeremiah Tiffin announced his 2020 schedule today which features a heavy dose of west coast competition early followed by Summit League play starting in late September.
First serve is at a tournament co-hosted by UC-Irvine and Cal State Fullerton August 28-29. The Fighting Hawks face both hosts and Sacred Heart who advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Week two takes the Fighting Hawks back west for a three matches in three days in a tournament hosted by Eastern Washington. North Dakota faces host Eastern Washington on Friday, September 3. Last season, North Dakota opened the home slate in The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center with a 3-2 win over the Eagles. Less than 24 hours later, the Fighting Hawks take on Bakersfield on Saturday, Sept 4. Closing out the weekend on Sunday, September 5, North Dakota matches up against Dixie State in its first year transitioning from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.
North Dakota hosts the UND Classic at September 11-12 in The Betty where UND has won 78% (105-29) its matches since the reclassification to Division I in 2009. The Fighting Hawks square off against Montana from the Big Sky Conference. North Dakota dominated Montana from 2012-2017 when the two were conference foes with UND racking up a 13-0 record against the Griz in that time. The Hawks will face Drake and Lamar on day two.
North Dakota hits the road once again to Louisville, Ky., for a tournament hosted by Bellarmine University on September 18-19. The Fighting Hawks face three teams from The Volunteer State including the Knights who are in year one of the transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I along with Tennessee State and UT-Chattanooga.
Summit League play begins with a bang as North Dakota takes on defending Summit League Champion South Dakota in Vermillion on Friday, September 25. From there, North Dakota stays on the road for a match at Oral Roberts on Sunday, September 27. The road team won both match-ups in the North Dakota – Oral Roberts series a year ago.
Fighting Hawk fans will then get an opportunity to see four straight home matches as the calendar turns to October. On Friday, October 2, North Dakota faces Kansas City who is coming back into the league after a stint in the Western Athletic Conference. The Roos advanced to post-season play last season falling to UNLV in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The second game of the home stand on Sunday October 4 is against Western Illinois, who North Dakota swept last season. The third game of the home stand is with South Dakota State, a team that the Hawks defeated in The Betty last season. The fourth consecutive tilt in The Betty will pit North Dakota and Omaha on Sunday, Oct 11.
The rivalry series with North Dakota State is next on Tuesday, October 13 in Fargo with the Bison retuning to Grand Forks on Friday, November 10.
Other home matches are South Dakota (Oct. 23), Oral Roberts (Oct 25), and Denver (Nov. 15).
2020 NORTH DAKOTA VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
| 8/28/2020 |
Sacred Heart |
Fullerton, Calif. |
| 8/28/2020 |
UC Irvine |
Fullerton, Calif. |
| 8/29/2020 |
Cal State Fullerton |
Fullerton, Calif. |
| 9/3/2020 |
Eastern Washington |
Cheney, Wash. |
| 9/4/2020 |
Bakersfield |
Cheney, Wash. |
| 9/5/2020 |
Dixie State |
Cheney, Wash. |
| 9/11/2020 |
MONTANA |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 9/12/2020 |
DRAKE |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 9/12/2020 |
LAMAR |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 9/18/2020 |
Tennessee State |
Louisville, Ky. |
| 9/19/2020 |
UT Chattanooga |
Louisville, Ky. |
| 9/19/2020 |
Bellarmine |
Louisville, Ky. |
| 9/25/2020 |
South Dakota |
Vermillion, S.D. |
| 9/27/2020 |
Oral Roberts |
Tulsa, Okla. |
| 10/2/2020 |
KANSAS CITY |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/4/2020 |
WESTERN ILLINOIS |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/9/2020 |
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/11/2020 |
OMAHA |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/13/2020 |
North Dakota State |
Fargo, N.D. |
| 10/18/2020 |
Denver |
Denver, Colo. |
| 10/23/2020 |
South Dakota |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/25/2020 |
Oral Roberts |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 10/30/2020 |
Western Illinois |
Macomb, Ill. |
| 11/1/2020 |
Kansas City |
Kansas City, Mo. |
| 11/6/2020 |
South Dakota State |
Brookings, S.D. |
| 11/8/2020 |
Omaha |
Omaha, Neb. |
| 11/10/2020 |
North Dakota State |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
| 11/15/2020 |
Denver |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
