March 21, 2022
Coming off a record-setting 2021 season that ended in the NCAA Quarterfinals, the James Madison University women's volleyball team begins the trek toward 2022's Promised Land of Omaha, NE next Tuesday when it competes in the first of six exhibition matches in the Spring season at 7pm at Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville against East Tennessee State. The Dukes will also face Duke University, Maryland, Virginia, Liberty, and the University of Pennsylvania over the next three weeks. Dates, times, and locations are listed below.
2022 Spring Schedule
March 29 7pm vs. ETSU (at Daleville)
April 2 4pm vs. Duke (at Virginia Wesleyan)
April 9 10:15am vs. Maryland, 11:30am vs. Virginia, 3:15pm vs. Liberty (at JMU Convocation Center)
April 14 7pm vs. Penn (at St. John's College, Washington)
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JMU's Fall schedule will see the Dukes play 32 matches in the regular season, opening with the American Family Children's Hospital Invitational at the University of Wisconsin on August 26th and 27th, where they will play the two-time defending NCAA champion Badgers in their opening match. The following weekend will be the JMU Invitational presented by Safeway, with the Dukes hosting Austin Peay, East Carolina, and Western Kentucky. Over the course of the season, JMU will face:
* Seven teams which made the NCAA Tournament field in 2021, including six conference champions (Wisconsin, Kentucky, High Point, Western Kentucky, Illinois-Chicago, and UMBC);
* Seven teams from the Autonomy Five, made up of the Big Ten, Big Twelve, ACC, SEC, and Pac-12 Conferences (UW, UK, Indiana, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech);
* Four in-state rivals (VT, VCU, William and Mary, and Old Dominion);
* Five teams ranked in the final AVCA Coaches' Poll of the 2021 regular season (UW, UK, Pitt, MSU, and WKU); and
* Two former schools of members of JMU's 2022 team (East Carolina and Mississippi State).
In order to accommodate larger crowds for matches against high-profile opponents, the Dukes will be playing eight of its thirteen home matches in the renovated JMU Convocation Center, to include all six non-conference opponents, Marshall, and Old Dominion. The Dukes' inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference will begin on September 23rd when Appalachian State pays a visit to Sinclair Gymnasium.
JMU head coach Lauren Steinbrecher on her team's schedule: "We as a program have put together a challenging non-conference slate that includes three teams consistently ranked in the top ten of the AVCA Coaches' Poll in 2021, two of last year's Cinderella stories in Mississippi State and Western Kentucky, and a number of backyard brawls against fellow schools of the Commonwealth. We look forward to competing against some of the very best teams in the country and becoming battle-tested for what we hope will be a deep run in the NCAA Tournament."
Tickets for the entire home schedule can be purchased through the JMU Ticket Office at 540-586-3583 or online at jmusports dot com.
2022 Fall Schedule
August 20 1pm Purple/Gold Match (Exhibition) (Convo)
August 26 8pm at Wisconsin (UW Invite)
August 27 11am vs. Kentucky (UW Invite)
August 27 6pm vs. Rhode Island (UW Invite)
September 2 7pm vs. Austin Peay (JMU Invite) (Convo)
September 3 12pm vs. East Carolina (JMU Invite) (Convo)
September 3 7pm vs. Western Kentucky (JMU Invite) (Convo)
September 6 7pm at William and Mary
September 9 5pm vs. South Carolina State (High Point Invite)
September 10 10am vs. Wake Forest (High Point Invite)
September 10 7pm at High Point (High Point Invite)
September 16 5pm vs. IPFW (Indiana Invite)
September 17 12pm at Indiana (Indiana Invite)
September 17 5pm vs. UIC (Indiana Invite)
September 21 7pm vs. Virginia Commonwealth (Convo)
September 23 *7pm vs Appalachian State
September 24 *7pm vs. Coastal Carolina
September 30 *7pm at Marshall
October 2 *1pm at Troy
October 7 *7pm at Appalachian State
October 9 *1pm at Coastal Carolina
October 12 7pm vs. Virginia Tech (Convo)
October 14 *7pm vs. Georgia State
October 15 *7pm vs. Georgia Southern
October 19 *7pm at Old Dominion
October 21 *7pm vs. Troy
October 22 *7pm vs. Marshall (Convo)
October 26 Noon vs. Pittsburgh (Convo)
November 2 7pm at UMBC
November 5 *7pm vs. Old Dominion (Convo)
November 9 7pm at Mississippi State
November 11 *7pm at Georgia State
November 12 *7pm at Georgia Southern
November 17-20 Sun Belt Conference Tournament (at UT-Arlington)
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