Volleyball Announces 2015 Schedule
6/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Coming off a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014, Alabama's journey towards a third straight bid begins on Aug. 28 as the Crimson Tide has announced its 2015 schedule.
Alabama will play 17 of its 31 matches at home this season, including two tournaments in the first two weeks of September and nine SEC matches. Season tickets for the 2015 season are set to go on sale starting July 1. Televised matches will be announced at a later date.
Alabama went 12-1 at home last season and topped the 12,000 mark in attendance for the third straight season, including a Foster Auditorium record crowd of 2,169 on Nov. 21, 2014 for a 3-1 win over Auburn. Prior to 2012, Alabama only saw attendance top 10,000 once in 2006.
Alabama will open the season in Long Beach, Calif., on Aug. 29-30 at the LBSU/CSUF Baden Classic, playing Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton before making a quick diversion to Malibu to play Pepperdine in the closing match of the Pepperdine Asics Classic on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Alabama will then return to Tuscaloosa for two straight weeks, first hosting the Bama Bash on Sept. 4-5 where Alabama will play Northwestern State, Tulsa, Southern Miss and the College of Charleston. The following weekend, the Tide hosts the Crimson-White Tournament on Sept. 11-12, facing Troy, Saint Louis and Virginia. Alabama closes out the preseason portion of the schedule the following weekend in DeKalb, Ill., at the Huskie Invitational on Sept. 18-19, hosted by Northern Illinois.
The Tide opens SEC play at home on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. CT hosting Mississippi State at Foster Auditorium. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, Alabama will host in-state foe Alabama State before hitting the road for a pair of SEC contests against Tennessee (Friday Oct. 2) and Kentucky (Sunday Oct. 4). The Tide will have a week free of competition before resuming at home on Sunday, Oct. 11 against Missouri.
Road matches against Texas A&M (Oct. 16) and LSU (Oct. 18) are followed by home dates against Kentucky (Oct. 23) and Georgia (Oct. 25) before a quick turnaround has the Tide heading to Columbia, Mo., for a road match against Missouri (Oct. 28) and a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Razorbacks (Nov. 1). Three of the next four matches take place in Foster Auditorium, starting against Tennessee (Nov. 6) and South Carolina (Nov. 8). Alabama makes a quick trip to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators (Nov. 13) before returning home to host Auburn (Nov. 15).
Alabama's final SEC road contests will come against Georgia (Nov. 20) and South Carolina (Nov. 22) before the Tide closes out the regular season at home against Ole Miss on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and LSU on Friday, Nov. 27.
Alabama returns its entire starting lineup from last season, including All-Americans Krystal Rivers, Sierra Wilson and Kat Hutson. Last season, the Tide set a school record with 26 wins, including the program's first ever win at the NCAA Tournament, a five-set thriller over Samford in the opening round of the Tallahassee regional. Alabama finished the 2014 season receiving votes just outside the Top 25, a program first.
