UMBC

Head coach Ian Blanchard and the Retrievers will kick-off the 2007 season on August 31 at the La Salle Tournament.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team will kick-off the 2007 season with two days of competition at the La Salle Tournament in Philadelphia, Pa. from August 31-September 1, head coach Ian Blanchard announced today.

“We purposely didn’t schedule an August tournament this year,” said Blanchard.  “This way we’ll have more time to continue training.”

The Retrievers will also compete in the Quinnipiac Tournament in Hamden, Conn. and the Towson Tournament in Towson, Md. before beginning America East conference-play on September 28 when they host Maine at 7:00 p.m. in the RAC Arena.

The early season tournament schedule will help acclimate Blanchard’s incoming class and will give the Retrievers time to test different players out.

“We have a large incoming class,” said Blanchard, “and we have to replace our starting libero and two starting middles.  One of the objectives of our scheduling is to gradually increase the intensity of competition before jumping into the conference season.  We want to play a lot of different people in a variety of positions to find out who will step up.  It also gives us the opportunity to see a few different line-ups.”

In the non-conference part of their schedule, the Retrievers face the likes of George Washington, Coppin State, Delaware, St. Francis (Pa.), and the U.S. Naval Academy.  New opponents to this year’s schedule are NJIT, Howard, and Farleigh Dickinson. 

The Retrievers will play NJIT for the first time in school history, after the Highlanders moved from Division II to Division I in the 2006 season.  The Retrievers will also face Howard for the first time since 1996 and Farleigh Dickinson for the first time since leaving the Northeast Conference after the 2002 season.