AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team will face another challenging schedule in 2019 that includes seven NCAA Tournament participants, head coach Rick Nold announced.
Auburn kicks off the year with an exhibition match vs. Georgia Tech, Aug. 24, in Auburn Arena. The squad follows with its annual War Eagle Invitational, hosting New Mexico State, Tennessee State and Butler, Aug. 30-31. NM State captured the Western Athletic Conference crown to earn a bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers follow with a trio of tournaments on the road, starting with a trip to South Beach, Sept. 6-8. The team will face Florida Gulf Coast, South Florida and George Washington over three days on Miami’s campus. FGCU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after capturing the ASUN Championship.
AU moves on to Fort Worth, Texas, facing a pair of Power 5 opponents, Sept. 14-15. The team faces Miami (Fla.) first and follows with a contest vs. host TCU.
Auburn’s final non-conference weekend sends it to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a tournament at Western Michigan. The Tigers will take on Michigan State for the second time in three years to kick things off, Sept. 20, before facing host WMU that evening. The team closes it out with a match vs. IUPUI, Sept. 21.
Southeastern Conference action begins on the final weekend of September when the Tigers take on challenging opponents on the road in Florida and South Carolina. Both the Gators and the Gamecocks were NCAA Tournament participants.
Auburn has seven matches in October with four at home and three away from the Plains. The squad hosts Alabama (Oct. 2), NCAA Tournament competitors Tennessee (Oct. 6) and Missouri (Oct. 18), and Georgia (Oct. 20) in Auburn Arena. AU will head to Ole Miss (Oct. 13), Mississippi State (Oct. 25) and Arkansas (Oct. 27).
A busy month of November kicks off with a home match vs. Mississippi State, Nov. 1. The team then heads to LSU (Nov. 6) before coming back to the Plains to take on defending SEC champion Kentucky, Nov. 10. The rest of the month is split with three matches in Auburn Arena and three on the road.
Coming to the Plains will be LSU (Nov. 17), Florida (Nov. 20) and South Carolina (Nov. 24). Auburn takes on the Aggies of Texas A&M just once this year and it will be in College Station, Nov. 13. The Tigers are set to go to Tennessee the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, and will cap the regular season at Alabama, Nov. 30.
Times will be released after the SEC Network schedule has been announced. All home matches will be played in Auburn Arena and admission will be free.
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For more information, contact Kendra Willard