June 19, 2008

KINGSTON, R.I. - The 2008 University of Rhode Island volleyball schedule, which was released earlier this week, features 10 home matches - five against Atlantic-10 foes - and three in-season tournaments.

Head coach Bob Schneck begins his 28th season at the helm of the URI volleyball program at the Quinnipiac Tournament in Hamden, Conn. The Rams open with matches against A-10 rival Fordham and Morgan state on Friday, August 29 before facing CAA-powerhouse Towson and the host Bobcats on Saturday, August 30.

"This tournament gives us an opportunity to play a lot of matches," said Schneck. `We weren't thrilled about playing a conference opponent (Fordham) - it's something I've never done. We wanted to find a local tournament, and Quinnipiac is a school we have never faced. We hosted Towson a few years ago, and they blew us out of the water, but they have struggled since. I feel we have the ability to come away with a win against each of these schools. We have a lot of new talent this year, and this tournament allows us to play a number of different teams and begin to build our lineup."

The Rams open the home portion of their schedule the following week as they host the annual Ram Classic, which features Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Stony Brook from the America East, and South Carolina from the Southeast Conference (SEC). The tournament begins on Thursday, September 6 and runs through Saturday, September 8.

"We defeated Boston College this spring, and I feel South Carolina is at another level than what we are right now," Schneck continued. "If we can get better from the first weekend to this, we can be competitive with BC, South Carolina, and Stony Brook. We lost to Stony Brook two years ago, and they have a solid recruiting class which will make them better than last season. These are the kind of teams we need to play to get ready for the Atlantic 10 schedule."

URI wraps up tournament play with matches against Evansville, Seton Hall, and host New Hampshire in Durham on Sept. 12-13. "We lost in three to UNH last year at Colgate, and they were a good team. We played them this spring at UNH and they beat us again," said Schneck. "They've had a number for the last few years now and are a solid program with a good coaching staff, so it's a good test for us, much like South Carolina and Stony Brook. Both Evansville and Seton Hall are where we're at, and with this being the third weekend of the season, we should be able to come away with a few wins."

Following A-10 matches at Dayton (October 17), Xavier (October 18), Charlotte (October 24), and George Washington (October 26), the Rams return home to host Xavier on Saturday, November 1 and Dayton on Sunday, November 2. They close out the regular season with three road matches - Fordham (November 7), St. Louis (November 9), and Providence (November 12) - and a home match with Fordham on November 15.

"Dayton has been the powerhouse of the A-10, but their entire staff marched down to Maryland this off-season," said Schneck. "They have a solid returning team, but they graduated some key players while a few others transferred, so I don't expect them to dominate the way they did last season. Xavier played them hard last season and is in the upper-echelon of teams, along with Saint Louis and Temple. After those four schools, the rest of us - Charlotte, Fordham, GW, Rhode Island, and Duquesne - are all in the same tier, and on any given night, any team can win. We're on the road quite a bit this year, and having to play at GW and Charlotte instead of at home is a big factor. We beat Fordham last year and they ended up going to the A-10 tournament, so I think the final home game against them is going to have serious playoff implications. We have a very talented group of freshmen and sophomores, and I expect those freshmen to not be playing like freshmen by the time that match rolls around because home court matches are going to be huge this year."

• 2009 Roster

• 2009 Schedule

• 2009 Statistics

• 2009 Volleyball Media Guide

• 2009 Quick Facts 

• Keaney Gymnasium

• Calling All Alumni

• Junior Rams Club Program

• Bob Schneck's Volleyball Camp

• Give to URI Volleyball

• 2009 Quick Facts 

HEAD COACH: BOB SCHNECK

• 401-874-5231

• bschneck@uri.edu

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH: STEVE SANTONASTASO

• 401-874-5142

• steve_s@uri.edu

VOLLEYBALL LINKS

• Atlantic 10 Volleyball

• NCAA Volleyball

• USA Volleyball

• International Volleyball Federation