If all goes according to plan, the Colorado College volleyball team will play the longest season in the 32-year history of the program during its 2010 campaign.
In an effort to prepare his team for another long run in the NCAA Tournament, head coach Rick Swan has announced a schedule featuring a gauntlet of top-level opponents that should help CC be at its best when the postseason begins.
The Tigers will assemble in early August for preseason training on the Caribbean Islands of St. Maarten and St. Kitts, and then hope to make a second consecutive appearance in the national quarterfinals in late November.
The 2010 schedule includes four opponents that advanced to a regional final of last year's NCAA Tournament, eight matches against teams that were ranked in the AVCA's Top 25 during the 2009 season and a trio of contests against Division II opponents from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
And, if that dates weren't challenging enough, CC plays all 16 of its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season matches and the conference tournament on the road.
“It's going to be a long season, so we need to keep the team focused and motivated,” Swan said. “We want to keep them out of their comfort zone as much as we can, especially early in the season, so when we get to crunch time they are used to facing some adversity and look forward to facing a challenge head-on.”
After opening the season at home against Johnson & Wales University of Colorado, CC plays host to back-to-back tournaments that include NCAA qualifiers University of La Verne and Eastern University.
The tourney fields also include Carleton College and Illinois Wesleyan in the Pikes Peak Challenge, as well as Linfield College and Wheaton College in the CC Invitational.
“The first two tournaments are filled with solid teams that had winning records last season,” Swan said. “It's not going to be a cakewalk. Both weekends are going to be a good test to see where we are at and what we're capable of doing.”
Conference action begins on Sept. 17 in Georgetown, Texas, with the first of four grueling weekends during which the Tigers play a pair of matches on back-to-back days.
Swan filled the first weekend away from SCAC competition with road matches against DII opponents CSU-Pueblo and Metropolitan State College, both of which will be seeking a measure of revenge after falling to CC last season.
Following two more conference weekends in mid-October, Colorado College will begin gearing up for the postseason when it plays host to the Spike It Up Classic. The second annual Steve Durand Memorial Alumni match will be played after the title contest.
One of the highlights of the schedule is the resumption of the series with cross-town rival CU-Colorado Springs for the first time since 2008.
“We're excited to play CU-Colorado Springs again,” Swan said. Their roster consists of a lot of Colorado Springs kids who went off to play Division I volleyball, then came back and settled here in Colorado Springs and at UCCS.
“As you go up the ladder, the game becomes quicker and has a much faster pace. Playing a team like UCCS will make us even stronger and more prepared for the conference championship.”
The SCAC Tournament will take place at Trinity University, a co-favorite to win the conference championship. The NCAA Tournament begins five days later.
“This team is seasoned and has a lot of experience,” Swan said. “Our players are used to travelling, competing on the road and bouncing from one time zone to another. It's never easy, but they've been through it.
“The last two seasons, we lost in the NCAA Tournament to the eventual national champion, so we haven't beaten the best. Our goal this year is to beat the best.”
