Lady Paladins Announce 2007 Volleyball Schedule

May 9, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - The Furman volleyball team will open its 2007 home season on Friday, September 21 with a Southern Conference battle against Georgia Southern in Alley Gym. The Lady Paladins will compete in three early season tournaments and host nine league matches before capping off the season at the SoCon Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., in mid-November.

"We are very excited about our 2007 schedule," said 2006 SoCon Coach of the Year Michelle Young, "We have a tough non-conference schedule playing teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and the ACC among other tough teams. We will have several first-time match-ups this year, so it will be a lot of fun to see some teams that we've never seen before."

Furman will open play August 24-25 in New Orleans, La., at the Tulane Tournament, which features two teams the Lady Paladins have never faced before in host Tulane and 2006 NCAA Tournament participant Colorado. The Lady Paladins will be one of five other teams at the Drake Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa on August 31-September 1. The Drake Bulldogs will host Furman, Wisconsin Green Bay, Florida Atlantic and Kent State.

The Lady Paladins will conclude tournament play at the Clemson Tournament on September 7-9. Here Furman will get a taste of Big Ten volleyball with its first-ever meeting against Purdue. The Boilermakers advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. Clemson and Florida A&M are also part of the field.

After two road matches, including the Southern Conference opener against Wofford, Furman will finally make its home debut against the Georgia Southern Eagles in late September. The Lady Paladins stop at home will be short as they are back on the road for their next four matches against Gardner Webb, Elon, UNC Greensboro and Davidson.

After a two-match homestand against Western Carolina and Chattanooga, Furman will play its next three matches on the road, including a battle with defending Southern Conference champion College of Charleston on October 13. Six of Furman's final eight matches will be on its home court with the regular-season finale on November 10 against CofC. The Lady Paladins will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the SoCon Tournament November 15-18.

"I think our difficult non-conference schedule will do a great job preparing us for SoCon play," commented Young, "We are excited about a tough year in the conference and we feel it will be one of the strongest years for the league with several teams battling at the top all year. We had such a strong off-season and I look forward to begin training in August."

Furman returns four starters to a team that posted a 19-11 record in 2006, including a 15-3 mark in the conference. Nicole Palazzo, the 2006 SoCon Player of the Year, and all-conference honorees Chibuzo Aguocha and Courtney Stewardson will attempt to lead the team to a SoCon title in 2007.