College of Charleston to Face Two-Time Defending National Champion Penn State in 29 Game Slate
8/21/2009 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Click for an interview with Head Coach Jason Kepner
CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the first time in program history, the College of Charleston will play a defending national champion as the Cougars will face back-to-back champion Penn State as part of a 29 game schedule announced by head coach Jason Kepner.
The match against the Nittany Lions highlights a slate that includes four in-season tournaments and matches against five teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago, four of which advanced to at least the second round.
The Cougars will open 2009 in Clemson, S.C. at the Big Orange Bash where they will face three in-state opponents in Winthrop, South Carolina and Clemson. South Carolina went 21-9 last year while Clemson was 23-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A trip to Cincinnati, Ohio follows for the Bearcat Invitational that features Evansville, Youngstown and Cincinnati. In addition to a match against a Bearcats squad that went 27-7 last year, tied for first place in the Big East and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Evansville match will have special meaning for Cougars senior Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.). Sawin will face off against her sister, Ellen, who is a sophomore setter for the Purple Aces.
From September 11-12, the College of Charleston will face their toughest competition all year as they head to Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Duke Blue Devil Invitational. There they will face host Duke, who finished 25-9, tied for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and won a match in the NCAA Tournament, at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 11.
CofC's most difficult match, possibly in program history, will come the next day when they meet two-time defending national champion Penn State at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 12. “Anytime you get to play the two-time defending national champions on a neutral court, it will be a fun match to be a part of” said Kepner.
In addition to the importance of the match itself, playing Penn State will have some added meaning for Kepner, a former Penn State men's volleyball player and 1997 graduate. “Having played at Penn State, and with our former assistant coach Kaleena Davidson (formerly Walters) now a member of their staff, it definitely adds to the match for me personally” said Kepner. “In the end, it is just as important as any other match this season. I am confident that our team will be ready for the challenge”.
Following a match against Loyola University to wrap up the tournament, the Cougars will return home to open the state of the art Carolina First Arena for volleyball competition. The CofC Invitational featuring Big East member University of South Florida and Lafayette will christen the arena on September 18-19 and begin a seven-match home stand after a nine-match road trip to begin the year.
That stretch will also kick off the team's Southern Conference portion of the schedule. After facing cross-town rival Charleston Southern in one of their final non-conference matches on September 22, the Cougars will open the SoCon slate with Western Carolina, The Citadel Wofford and Furman from September 26 – October 4.
The program will then hit the road for a four-match swing that will take them through four states as they face Georgia Southern, Davidson, Chattanooga and Samford before returning home for matches against UNC Greensboro and Elon from October 24-25.
The Southern Conference schedule will begin to wind down as the Cougars travel to Appalachian State on October 31 and visit in-town rival The Citadel on November 4 before their final regular season home matches vs. Georgia Southern and Davidson from November 6-7.
CofC will wrap up the regular season on the road at Wofford and Furman a week later before preparing for the Southern Conference Tournament. This year, only the top four teams qualify for the field with the top seed hosting the tournament from November 20-22. Following the tournament, the Cougars will play Winthrop at the Carolina First Arena on November 25.
This season, the College of Charleston returns eleven members of last season's 27-7 team, including all six starters plus libero and they kick off the season at the Big Orange Bash Tournament in Clemson, S.C. August 28-29.
