June 29, 2009

Coral Gables, Fla. - The University of Miami volleyball squad will host two in-season tournaments and travel to Colorado for another as Hurricanes head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch officially released the 2009 playing schedule on Monday, June 29.

Entering her ninth year at the helm of the Hurricanes volleyball program, Lantagne Welch and her staff has created an impressive schedule for the 2009 season. On the year, Miami will face five teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament. UM concluded the 2008 season with a 26-6 overall record, also finishing tied for third in the conference with a 14-6 ACC record.

After competing in the annual Alumni Match on Aug. 22, UM will open the competitive portion of the schedule playing host to Florida Gulf Coast, Prairie View A&M and USF in the 8th Annual Hurricane Invitational. The event runs Aug. 28-29 at the James L. Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables.

In-season tournaments continue the following weekend where the `Canes travel to Greeley, Colo., playing three matches against Eastern Michigan, North Dakota State and host Northern Colorado in the 4th Annual Northern Colorado Tournament on Sept. 4-5. Miami will host the last tournament of the regular season sharing duties with cross-town rival FIU as the Hurricanes face-off against FIU, Middle Tennessee State and Albany (N.Y.) on Sept. 10-12.

UM opens its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) slate against in-state rival Florida State on Sept. 18 in Tallahassee. The following day, the `Canes play their last non-conference opponent of the regular season against Notre Dame, also taking place in Tallahassee, as part of the Seminole Tri-Match.

Miami hosts four consecutive home ACC matches from Sept. 25 through Oct. 4, playing Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Georgia Tech. That is immediately followed with four consecutive road matches at Wake Forest, Duke, Boston College and Maryland.

Back-to-back home matches against North Carolina and NC State prelude a Virginia road trip to Virginia and Virginia Tech--which proved to be a huge road swing last season for the `Canes. Miami returns home to host Wake Forest and Duke, before embarking on the final road trip of the year at Georgia Tech and Clemson.

The Hurricanes wrap-up the home season against Maryland, Boston College and rival Florida State, with the FSU match to serve as Senior Appreciation Day.

The Hurricanes hold a 25-23 all-time mark against non-conference opponents on this year's schedule, including a 9-1 record against USF. However, the two teams have not played since 2004. The match against FIU also marks the first meeting between the two Dade County institutions since 2004, while UM has won the last two meetings in the series--though FIU holds a slight 18-14 edge in the series.

A complete 2009 volleyball schedule may be reviewed at www.hurricanesports.com. A printable schedule is also available on the website. For ticket information, please call the University of Miami Ticket Office at (305) 284-CANE.

For more information on the University of Miami Volleyball team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes Volleyball program.