The Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball program is set to play a 29-match schedule in 2015 and will host one tournament, head coach Ashley Preston announced Tuesday.
"I look forward to playing tough competition our first weekend at Titan Gym and hope that our non-conference schedule will help us prepare for conference play," Preston said.
The Titans open up the 2015 slate with the Navy/White Match on Friday, August 21 at Titan Gym.
Following the scrimmage, Fullerton will play their first home match of the regular season on Friday, Aug. 28 against Duke (22-8, 14-4 in ACC), who finished No. 25 in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Coaches Poll in the Titan Classic. It will be the first ever meeting between the Titans and the Blue Devils.
The Titans will close out the tournament with a pair of matches on Aug. 29, starting with Alabama (26-8), and wrapping up with a nightcap against St. Mary's of the West Coast Conference. Fullerton has only faced SEC opponent Alabama one other time in school history, and has yet to record a victory over St. Mary's in four meetings.
The following weekend, the Titans hit the road for the rest of non-conference play. Starting with the Lobo Classic on Sept. 4, Fullerton opens up the competition against SMU (26-6). The Titans will then face off against host New Mexico followed by Santa Clara on Sept. 5.
On Sept. 11, Fullerton heads to Fresno, Calif. for the Fresno State Invitational, where they open up with Central Michigan at 9 a.m., followed by a match against host Fresno State at 4:30 p.m. The Titans close out the tourney against Sacramento State, whom the Titans have faced four previous times. They are 2-2 against the Hornets.
The Titans will close out their non-conference schedule at the University of San Francisco in the San Francisco Challenge. Fullerton opens up with North Dakota State of the Summit League, another first-time meeting, followed by host San Francisco.
The Titans finish the invite against the five-time defending Ivy League Champion Yale. The Bulldogs went 18-8 in 2014 and 12-2 in conference to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Fullerton is currently 1-1 all-time against the Yale.
The Titans begin their 16-match Big West Conference schedule on Sept. 25 at UC Riverside, whom the Titans hold a 25-4 all-time record over the Highlanders. Fullerton will hit the road again as they face UC Irvine, who finished fourth in the Big West last season.
The first home match for the Titans in conference will feature the Rainbow Wahine, followed by the longest road stretch of Big West play, starting on Oct. 10. Fullerton will head to UC Davis for the first of three road matches which also includes Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
Fullerton returns to Titan gym with a pair of matches against UC Irvine and UC Davis before heading to Hawai'i.
The Titans will close out conference play against defending Big-West champions Long Beach State (27-5, 16-0 in Big West) on Nov. 20, followed by a home match against CSUN (19-9, 10-6 in Big West) on Nov. 21.
