Piedmont College Head Volleyball Coach Jamie McCormack has released the 2016 schedule, the first under her leadership, with the Lady Lions facing challenging tournament play to open the season.
Piedmont will play just one home contest during the month of September with three tournaments over the opening weeks of the season including the prestigious Emory Classic for the second year in a row. The Lady Lions will have a total of eight home contests throughout the year with the remainder of the schedule coming outside Cave Arena with eight true away matches and 15 coming on a neutral court.
The Lady Lions open the season on the road but not far from home at the Oglethorpe Invite in Atlanta taking on Transylvania University on September 2 in the first of two matches against the Pioneers this season. Piedmont will also face the host team Oglethorpe later that evening, a team the Lady Lions boast a 20-4 all-time record against.
Piedmont will also take on Belhaven University and LaGrange College at the Oglethorpe Invite on September 3 with the contest against the Panthers coming out of conference play. PC will take on LaGrange at home in USA South play on October 8 in a tri-match with Fisk University.
Following the season-opening tournament, Piedmont will face local rival Toccoa Falls College inside Cave Arena in the home opener on September 7 marking the only home contest in September with over a month until the next home date on the schedule. The Lady Lions have not lost to the Screaming Eagles in program history and have not dropped a set in the last four meetings.
Tournament play continues the following weekend as Piedmont heads to the Greensboro Invitational, once again facing a conference team out of conference play as they open with host Greensboro College on September 10 followed by Emory & Henry College who will travel to Demorest later in the season. The Lady Lions will also face Eastern Mennonite University and Elizabeth City State University on Septemebr 11 at the Greensboro Invitational in the first ever meeting against both schools.
The final tournament of the regular season will be the Emory Classic where Piedmont is slated for a pair of contests on September 17. The Lady Lions will take on the University of Mary Washington who went 23-8 in 2015 and reached the NCAA Tournament followed by Translyvania University in the final meeting between the two in 2016.
The Lady Lions will begin conference play on the road at LaGrange College but won’t face the Panthers during their four matches over a two-day span beginning September 24. Piedmont will play Mary Baldwin College and Ferrum College on Saturday then face North Carolina Wesleyan College and Meredith College on Sunday. Piedmont holds a 15-6 record all-time against those opponents and has never lost to the pair of opponents they will face on Saturday.
Piedmont will remain on the road for the next two USA South tri-matches in Greensboro, N.C. against Methodist University and Greensboro College on October 1 then travel to Danville, Virginia to face William Peace and Averett the following day.
On October 8, fans of the Green and Gold will have the chance to see the Lady Lions in action at home for the first time in over a month as LaGrange College & Fisk University visit Cave Arena for a tri-match beginning at noon. Piedmont will take on LaGrange at noon then Fisk at approximately 4 p.m.
Piedmont will remain at home for a contest against Maryville College on October 9 at 1 p.m. before hitting the road for a 6:30 p.m. contest at Emory & Henry in the second meeting between the two in 2016. The Lady Lions will then head to Salem College the following day for a 6 p.m. match in Winston-Salem, N.C. The final road contest in that stretch will be against Huntingdon on October 14 in Alabama.
Four of the final six contests of the regular season come at home for Piedmont as they will host Clark Atlanta University on October 19 then a USA South tri-match with Covenant and Huntingdon coming to Cave Arena. Piedmont took Covenant to five sets inside Cave Arena last season in the final home game dropping the fifth set 15-12.
Senior recognition will be against new conference opponent Wesleyan College on October 26 with a schedule start time of 6 p.m. Piedmont is a perfect 12-0 against the Wolves of Wesleyan College and has never lost a set to them. The regular season will conclude at Agnes Scott for a tri-match against the Scotties and a team to be determined later on October 29.
It all leads to the USA South Championship Tournament to take place the first week in November with the tournament set to take place on campus at the highest seeds once again. The Lady Lions will start their journey in 2016 with a tournament in Atlanta taking on Transylvania University on September 2 at 4 p.m.
The home opener will come against Toccoa Falls College on September 7 starting at 7 p.m. in Cave Arena. All home action, for the fourth year in a row, will be broadcast live on Piedmont’s own Mane Event Broadcasting Network with live video and live stats integrated into one broadcast.
For the complete 2016 schedule, click here.
