Eastern Illinois Releases 2016 Volleyball Schedule

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois volleyball coach Sam Wolinski released the Panthers 2016 schedule which includes the return of a home volleyball tournament for the first time since the 2008 season.   In addition to four in-season tournaments, EIU will play a 16-match Ohio Valley Conference schedule and three non-conference matches with regional rivals.
 
“We are excited to announce that will we be hosting the EIU Panther Classic this year in Lantz,” said Wolinski.  “It has been quite some time since we have hosted a tournament here at EIU.  It will give our fans an early opportunity to see our team in action prior to the start of the OVC season.”
 
The EIU Panther Classic will take place Sept. 9-10 and include Bowling Green, Drake and Louisiana Tech.   Two matches will take place on Friday evening with EIU hosting Drake at 7 p.m.   Four matches will be played Saturday with EIU facing Bowling Green at 1:30 p.m. and Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m.
 
The season opens with the first of four in-season tournaments on Aug. 26-27 with EIU playing in the Green Bay Tournament.   The Panthers will see action against Stephen F. Austin, Green Bay and South Dakota State.
 
EIU will compete in the Memphis Tournament Sept. 2-3 and the Mississippi State Tournament on Sept. 16-17.   In the Memphis Tournament, EIU will face Louisiana Tech, Memphis and Jackson State.   In the Mississippi State Tournament, EIU will square off with Florida International, Troy and Mississippi State.
 
The home opener for EIU will be Tuesday, Aug. 30 against Butler at 6 p.m. in the Lantz Arena.  This will be one of three non-conference midweek matches for EIU.
 
“We are excited to announce that we will play three midweek matches this season,” added Wolinski.  “We will face Butler in our home opener and play at Western Illinois and Indiana State.”
 
The match with in-state rival Western Illinois will take place in Macomb on Sept. 7 while the Panthers will travel the short distance to Terre Haute on Sept. 27 to face Indiana State.
 
Ohio Valley Conference play opens for EIU on the road on Sept. 21 at SIU Edwardsville.   The Panthers then host Belmont for the home league opener on Friday, Sept. 23 with a 6 p.m. start.  That match will help kickoff Family Weekend festivities on the EIU campus.
 
EIU continues OVC action on the road with matches at Southeast Missouri and UT Martin at the end of September.   EIU makes additional road trips to Jacksonville State, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State in the month of October.  The regular season ends on the road on Nov. 11-12 for EIU with matches at UT Martin and Southeast Missouri.
 
EIU’s home OVC schedule includes a four-game homestand hosting Austin Peay, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State in mid-October.  The Panthers host SIUE on Oct. 26 and close out the home portion of the regular season on Nov. 4-5 hosting UT Martin and SEMO.
 
“I feel we have put together a quality schedule that will give us quality competition and the opportunities needed to compete with what will be considered by many, a young team with eight new faces on the squad this fall,” said Wolinski.
 
The OVC Tournament will take place Nov. 18-20 and will be hosted by the regular season champion.  EIU tied for second in the OVC last season in Wolinski’s first season at EIU with an 11-5 OVC record.   EIU was 16-15 overall.  The Panthers are set to return All-OVC performer Allie Hueston and All-OVC Newcomer selection Taylor Smith.