June 23, 2008

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University's head volleyball coach Jody Brown has released the team's 2008 schedule.

The Owls begin the regular season by hosting the FAU Invitational on August 29-30 at the FAU Arena. The University of Northern Iowa, the University of North Florida and Bethune-Cookman University will make up the rest of the field. It is the first home tournament for the Owls since the 2005 season and since the FAU Arena underwent a major renovation last summer.

"It's a challenging schedule, but also one we feel capable of doing well against with the experience we have gained in the last year," said Brown.

FAU will travel to Kansas City, Missouri to take part in the UMKC Invitational on September 5-6 when it will face Morgan State University, Samford University and UMKC. The event also will serve as a homecoming for Casey LaRocca, the Owls' leader in career assists, who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.

FAU's tournament season will wrap up at the Air Force Academy Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It will mark a return to the home state of three Owls, as Mallory Deneen (Pueblo West) Katie Evanyo (Littleton-Chatfield Senior) and Kendall Utz (Colorado Springs-William J. Palmer) all attended high school in that state. The University of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, North Carolina Central University, Kent State University and the host Falcons will provide the opposition.

The Owls return home to face Winston-Salem University on September 19 before hosting the University of Miami on September 20. FAU opens conference play on September 26 when Troy University comes to Boca Raton.

The Owls end the regular season with five-consecutive home matches before traveling down to Miami to face rival Florida International University in the season finale. FAU will host their final home match of the season on November 8 when they face 2007 Sun Belt regular season and tournament champions Middle Tennessee State University.

FIU will also be the site of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, where the best eight teams in the conference will meet to determine the tournament champion and recipient of an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Brown's squad will return players responsible for 95 percent of last season's kills and 91 percent of the blocks.