ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. − Head Coach Taylor Mott officially released her schedule for the fall 2010 season. The Saints will play a 32-match schedule with 10 being played in the cozy confines of Flagler Gym.
Flagler is coming off its best season in the program's history with a 36-9 overall mark. The Saints, in their inaugural season in the Peach Belt Conference, rolled to a 13-1 conference mark and won the regular season title as well as the conference's post-season championship. Flagler did not stop there as it would go on to win the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at Wingate, N.C., and then went on to win its first-ever national tournament match and finished in the final four and were ranked No. 22 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.
The Saints will take on eight teams who won 20 or more matches a year ago as well as six NCAA Division II Tournament participants.
Flagler will open the season at the Carolinas Challenge in Banner Elk, N.C. The Saints won all four matches there last year and dropped just one set. This year, Flagler opens with Coker College and conference-rival USC Aiken on Sept. 3. The tournament wraps up on Sept. 4 with region-rival Wingate University and then the Saints face the host school and NCAA Tournament participant, Lees-McRae College. Flagler will also play at Wingate on Sept. 15, a re-match of last year's Southeast Region final.
The Saints will play the following weekend at the Chatham Orthopedics Pirate Volleyball Classic at Savannah, Ga., for the second consecutive season. Flagler opens play on the 10th against St. Andrews Presbyterian and then face Florida Southern College. To finish the tournament, Flagler takes on a pair of Gulf South Conference members – University of West Georgia and the University of North Alabama. North Alabama made the South Regional last year.
Peach Belt Conference play begins on Sept. 17 with USC Aiken paying a visit to Flagler Gym at 7 p.m. It will also serve as the home opener for the Saints. Lander University comes in on the 18th at 2 p.m. Rollins College concludes the three-match home-stand on Sept. 21.
On Sept. 24 and 25, Flagler will venture back out on the road and face Augusta State University and the University of Montevallo.
Another three-match home-stand follows – all conference matches. Armstrong Atlantic State University, the conference runners-up and an NCAA Tournament team, comes to Flagler on Sept. 29. UNC Pembroke and Francis Marion University follow on Oct. 1 and 2.
The following weekend Flagler will head south for the Pepsi Bash at the Beach Tournament at Palm Beach Atlantic University. The Saints open with Ohio Valley University and the host, Palm Beach Atlantic, on Oct. 8. Flagler will then play a pair of New England schools – Southern New Hampshire University and Bentley College – Oct. 9. Bentley made the NCAA Tournament field last year. The Saints conclude the trip south with a visit to another NCAA Tournament school, Lynn University, on Oct. 10.
Flagler then has another three-match home-stand starting with Florida Southern on Oct. 12. Augusta State and Montevallo follow as the last two conference home matches for the Saints, Oct 15 and 16, respectively.
A six-match road trip ensues for Flagler. The Saints start the trip at Florida Tech on Oct. 26. League matches at USC Aiken and Lander follow on Oct. 29 and 30, respectively. A mid-week contest at Armstrong Atlantic on Nov. 3 precedes the final conference matches to be played – at UNC Pembroke and Francis Marion, Nov. 5 and 6.
The Saints close out the regular season at home against long-time rival, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
Flagler will look to defend its conference championship at the tournament at Savannah, Ga., Nov. 12-13. If they do, the Saints will have the opportunity to defend their Southeast Regional title the following weekend.
Click here to view the schedule.
