CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State volleyball head coach Chuck Voss and the reigning Horizon League Champion Vikings announced their 2017 schedule Monday afternoon, featuring four preseason tournaments and a 14-match Horizon League slate.
COMPLETE 2017 CLEVELAND STATE VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
Cleveland State's challenging non-league schedule will include preseason tournaments at Purdue (Aug. 25 – 26), Fordham (Sept. 1 – 2), Central Michigan (Sept. 8 – 9), and Pitt (Sept. 15 – 16).
During their 12-match non-league schedule the Vikings will face a pair of teams that finished the 2016 season receiving votes in the Top-25 Poll (Purdue & Pittsburgh), a pair of first-time opponents (Alabama & Oral Roberts), and a quartet of teams that they own perfect records against (Fordham, Binghamton, Marist & IUPUI).
CLEVELAND STATE'S 2017 PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS
Purdue Mortar Board Invitational | West Lafayette, Ind.
Friday, August 25 & Saturday, August 26
Alabama, Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Purdue
Rose Hill Classic | Bronx, N.Y.
Friday, September 1 & Saturday, September 2
Binghamton, Cleveland State, Fordham, Marist
Chippewa Challenge | Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Friday, September 8 & Saturday, September 9
Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Indiana State, IUPUI
Pitt Classic | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Friday, September 15 & Saturday, September 16
Cleveland State, Eastern Kentucky, Pittsburgh, UC Santa Barbara
The Vikings, who have captured the Horizon League Regular Season Title during the past two seasons, will begin their 14-match league slate with a three-match roadswing at Milwaukee (Sept. 22), Green Bay (Sept. 23), and Youngstown State (Sept. 29) to close out the month of September.
Cleveland State will finally host it's home-opener during the seventh week of the season, as the Vikings will face Northern Kentucky (Oct. 6) and Wright State (Oct. 7) in a weekend series, before returning to the road to close out the first half of the league schedule at Oakland (Oct. 13) and UIC (Oct. 14).
After playing at home for just two matches during the first half of the league schedule, Cleveland State will enjoy the comforts of home during the second part of the league slate, hosting five of its last seven matches at Woodling Gymnasium – where the Vikings own a 22-4 record over the last two years.
The Vikings will kickoff the second half of league play with a three-match homestand over the last two weeks of October, hosting Green Bay (Oct. 20), Milwaukee (Oct. 21), and Youngstown State (Oct. 27). Cleveland State will then hit the road for a pair of matches at Wright State (Nov. 3) and Northern Kentucky (Nov. 4), before returning home to close out the regular season against UIC (Nov. 10) and Oakland (Nov. 11).
The 2017 Horizon League Tournament will be held Friday, November 17 through Sunday, November 19, with the Regular Season Champion serving as the host institution. Entering the 2017 season, Cleveland State is the two-time defending tournament champion, and has won the league title three times out of the last five years (2012, 2015, 2016).
