2021 Emory Volleyball Schedule

The Emory University volleyball program has released its schedule for the 2021 season, with the Eagles facing a docket of 26 regular-season matches. 

"My philosophy has always been to schedule the best competition we can and, thankfully,  we were able to do that again for 2021 season," stated Emory Head Coach Jenny McDowell.   "We are excited about our schedule and I believe our team is up for the challenge."

McDowell and her squad begin a busy September by playing the opening five matches of the campaign at the Woodruff PE Center, beginning with a season-opening match-up against intra-city foe Oglethorpe University on Sept. 1 at 6:00 pm.  The Eagles then have a quick turnaround when they host the Emory Classic, Sept. 3-4.  Emory will square off against Brevard and Willamette on the first day of action before taking on Greensboro College and Covenant College the following afternoon.  All totaled, Emory will host 12 regular-season matches in the fall.

The Eagles face a formidable challenge the weekend of Sept. 10-11 when they venture to Thousand Oaks, California, and the campus of Cal Lutheran to compete in the East-West Challenge.  Emory will play three matches at the Challenge, starting with Trinity University, who ended the abbreviated 2020 season ranked No. 2 in the AVCA D-III Top 25 Poll.  Also awaiting Emory will be Saint Benedict and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who finished No. 7 in the final 2019 AVCA Poll.

After a home date against NCAA Division II member West Georgia on Sept. 16, the Eagles will take part in the University Round Robin I, Sept. 18-19, in Chicago where they will battle Case Western Reserve and Brandeis on the first day before closing out the weekend against Carnegie Mellon.  Emory will wrap up the month with an away contest at Oglethorpe on Sept. 22 and a home affair against another Division II member, Lee University on the 28th.

The Eagles travel to Brandeis for the UAA Round Robin II on Oct. 3 with matches slated against Washington University and New York University. Emory stays on the road with South Region tests at Sewanee (Oct. 9) and Berry College (Oct. 12) before returning to the Woodpec for the league's Round Robin III on Oct. 17 with matches against Rochester and Chicago on tap.  Oct. 22-23 will see the Eagles compete at the Randolph-Macon Classic, highlighted by a meeting against Johns Hopkins, who topped Emory in the 2019 NCAA D-III Championships title match.  The weekend of Oct. 29-30 caps off the regular season with the Emory National Invitational. Hendrix College is the opening opponent that Friday afternoon before the Eagles meet up with Birmingham Southern for a Senior Night contest.  Emory will take on Berry on Saturday afternoon in a 1:00 pm start.

"The UAA Conference will be one of the toughest in the country," McDowell said.  "In addition, we will be taking part in the East/West challenge for the fifth consecutive year, bringing together multiple teams that have recently been to the Elite Eight.  We then finish the regular season at home with the best tournament in the Southeast.  We can't wait to get started."

The UAA Championships will be held Nov. 5-6, in Cleveland, Ohio, with the NCAA Tournament beginning with regional play on campus sites, Nov. 12-14.  The NCAA Championships will be held in Saint Louis, Missouri, Nov. 18-20.

With the Covid-19 pandemic erasing the Emory's 2020 playing season as well as substantially limiting practice opportunities, McDowell knows that there will be additional challenges in preparing the team for what lies ahead, but she is optimistic about the future.

"It has been a long wait but we are thankful that we have been given the green light to compete again," stated McDowell, who will be in her 26^th year at the helm of the program.  "Our players are more focused and more motivated than ever before.   We are counting down the days until our first practice August 19^th."