Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Releases 2007 Volleyball Schedule
6/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
June 20, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern and head coach Keylor Chan have announced the 2007 Wildcats' volleyball schedule, featuring a pair of tournaments at Welsh-Ryan Arena as well as trips to both of the nation's coasts.
Northwestern will open the 2007 slate on August 24-25 as hosts of the Chicago Challenge. The four Division I programs in Chicagoland -- Northwestern, Loyola (Chicago), Illinois-Chicago and DePaul -- will meet in Welsh-Ryan Arena in a tournament-style event, with opening round matches on Friday, Aug. 24, and the consolation and championship matches on Saturday, Aug. 25.
"It is great to have all of the Chicagoland programs come together in one venue and put on a showcase for local volleyball fans," Chan said. "We are excited to be the hosts of this event this year."
Northwestern follows that tournament with an August 31-September 1 trip to Los Angeles, Calif., for the Loyola Marymount Four Points Sheraton LAX Classic. There the Wildcats will face host LMU, UNLV and UC Santa Barbara.
"Going to California gives us a chance to get one of our players, Sabel Moffett, back home to play, and also gives us several matches against traditionally strong programs," Chan said. "UC Santa Barbara made the NCAA Tournament last season, and LMU always challenges for a berth. This tournament will be a good test for our team."
Northwestern then goes from west coast to east coast for the September 7-8 Georgetown Tournament in Washington, D.C., featuring the host Hoyas along with Iona and Towson.
"We always enjoy playing another academically well-known University such as Georgetown, and we also are excited to play volleyball on the East Coast and see our nation's capital," Chan said.
The Wildcats' then return home to host the 26th annual Wildcat Classic, slated for September 14-15. This year's field is comprised of NU, Drake, Western Michigan and Saint Louis, which earned an NCAA Tournament berth in 2006. Northwestern won the Wildcat Classic in 2006 with a thrilling, 3-2 victory over No. 25 Arizona.
"This will be a good tournament for us before the start of the Big Ten season," Chan said. "Saint Louis is a tournament team from a year ago, and we had a tough match against Western Michigan last season."
The Big Ten schedule kicks off September 21-22 with road matches at perennial conference powerhouses Ohio State and Penn State. Six of NU's first eight league matches are on the road.
"The Big Ten will once again be one of the deepest and most competitive conferences in the nation," Chan said. "The test this year will be which team can go the duration, performing at its peak from week one all the way to week 10 to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"Our goal for the nonconference schedule this year is to test and prepare ourselves for the Big Ten season. We want to put ourselves in position to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and perform well when we get there."
Northwestern has been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five years under Chan, winning the first postseason match in school history in 2005. To view the complete schedule, click the schedule link on the left-hand sidebar of this page.
