(Hamilton, NY – June 4, 2013) Head coach Ryan Baker and the Colgate women’s volleyball program are set to defend its 2012 Patriot League Championship and will have a competitive schedule with five NCAA Tournament opponents.
The Raiders will play a total of 29 matches during the regular season, which features 13 non-conference matchups with only one coming after the start of the league season. The lone contest after the four tournaments is against Albany on Oct. 16 at home. The conference year begins on Sept. 27 and with the addition Loyola to the Patriot League, Colgate will play 16 conferences matches, which is two more than previous years.
“Our non-conference schedule is once again extremely challenging which I feel will benefit us come Patriot League time,” Baker said. “Five our opponents were in the NCAA tournament in 2012 along with a couple of other very strong programs. I feel this non-conference schedule will make us battle each and every weekend and that is exactly what this team wants and needs.”
Once again, the Raiders will start the season with multiple tournaments, including the Colgate Classic on August 30 and 31. The Raiders will welcome Central Connecticut State, Binghamton and St. John’s to Cotterell Court for the two-day event.
Following its own tournament, Colgate will hit the road for three-straight weekends in the month of September. First up is a trip to Yale for its invitational on Sept. 6 and 7, as the Raiders play Seton Hall, Yale and Missouri. From there it’s a visit to Long Island University to play the Blackbirds, Fairfield and Cornell.
The final tournament is the biggest one for Colgate as they will be facing a few of the top teams in the country. The Raiders are part of the N.C. State Invitational, which features the Wolfpack, Virginia Commonwealth and Wisconsin.
The league season starts with Army and Holy Cross on the last weekend of September and the final weekend of the regular season is Nov. 15 and 16. A couple of important dates areNov. 8 and 9 against Navy and Lehigh, which will be Volleyball Family Weekend and Senior Day. The Patriot League Tournament is going to be Nov. 23 and 24 at the highest seed.
“The Patriot League portion of the schedule will once again be very challenging with each program finding ways to improve,” Baker said. “I am very confident that this team will be ready to compete and give great effort.”
The coach of the Raiders is set for his eighth season at the helm and the 2012 Patriot League Coach of the Year will have a new challenge this season and that’s defending Colgate’s league championship.