ASU to play in four tourneys
From staff reports

Appalachian State’s volleyball team will play four tournaments, including the Appalachian Invitational, during its 2009 season.

The Mountaineers begin the 2009 season with a trip out West to play in the Four Points Titan Classic, Aug. 28-29. They will then return home to the comfy confines of the Holmes Center to host the Appalachian Invitational, Sept. 4 and 5, where the Mountaineers will square off against William and Mary, North Florida and Tennessee Tech.

Appalachian State’s home stretch is short. The Mountaineers will play in the Hilton Garden Inn against host Winthrop, Butler and Morgan State.

Appala-chian has not played the Bulldogs since 2003, Winthrop since 1997 and has never faced Morgan State.

The Mountaineers play their final regular season tournament the weekend of Sept. 18, traveling to Winston-Salem to take part in the Black and Gold Challenge hosted by Wake Forest. Along with facing the Demon Deacons, ASU will go up against Duke and Liberty.

Appalachian State coach Matt Ginipro is very excited about the 2009 slate and the strong opponents the Mountaineers will play.

“I am very happy with our 2009 schedule and I like the quality of teams we will be playing during the early non-conference season,” Ginipro said. “Having four available weekends before SoCon play starts really allows us to get a lot of matches under our belt before facing a conference opponent which should let us look at different lineups and systems.”

“I feel like this non-conference schedule will immediately challenge us and prepare us for the difficult SoCon season,” he added.

The Mountaineers begin Southern Conference play at The Citadel. The two squads split the series last season, with ASU dropping a 3-1 decision in Boone and then handily defeating the Bulldogs 3-0 on their homecourt.

Appalachian’s first home SoCon match is set for Sept. 30 against Western Carolina, before heading down the mountain once more to take on conference rivals Elon and UNC Greensboro.

A four match home strech starts on October 10 for the Mountaineers, who host Chattanooga, SoCon North Divison champion Samford, 2008 SoCon Tournament champion Furman and Wofford.

The Mountaineers close out the month of October with a home match on Halloween against SoCon South Division champion College of Charleston.

Apopalachain State’s final two home matches of the 2009 campaign are on Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, as ASU hosts UNCG and Elon.

The 2009 Southern Conference Tournament will take place November 20-22 with a location yet to be determined.

ASU 2009 volleyball schedule
Aug. 28 #vs. Idaho 4 p.m.
Aug. 29 #vs. Fullerton 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 29 #vs. Lamar 5 p.m.
Sept. 4 $William & Mary 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 $North Florida Noon
Sept. 5 $Tennessee Tech 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 %vs. Winthrop 7:30 p.m.
Sept .12 %vs. Butler 11 a.m.
Sept. 12 %vs. Morgan St. 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 at Charlotte 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 ^vs. Liberty 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 ^vs. Wake Forest 12:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 ^vs. Duke 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 *at The Citadel 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 *W. CAROLINA 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 *at Elon 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 *at UNCG 5 p.m.
Oct. 10 *CHATTANOOGA 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 *SAMFORD 2 p.m.
Oct. 16 *FURMAN 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 *WOFFORD 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 *at Ga. Southern 2 p.m.
Oct. 25 *at Davidson 2 p.m.
Oct. 31 *COL. OF CHAR. 2 p.m.
Nov. 4 *at W. Carolina 7 p.m.
Nov. 7 *at Samford 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 *at Chattanooga 2 p.m.
Nov. 11 *UNCG 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 *ELON 7 p.m.
Nov. 20-22 Southern Conference Tournament
# Four Points Tigan Classic in Fullerton, Calif.
$Appalachian Invitational
%Hilton Garden Inn Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C.
^Black and Gold Challenge in Winston-Salem