HAMPTON, Va. – The two-time defending MEAC champion Hampton University volleyball program released its 2015 schedule on Friday, a regional slate in what will be head coach Janay Yancey’s first season at the helm.
The Lady Pirates will compete in four tournaments prior to the state of conference play, all of which will be held at schools in either Virginia or North Carolina.
The season will start on Friday-Saturday, Aug. 28-29, when Hampton heads to Lynchburg, Va. to compete in the Liberty Tournament, taking part in a tournament field that will include the host Flames, UNC Greensboro, and Fairleigh Dickinson.
From there, the Lady Pirates will head to Davidson, N.C. on Sept. 4-5 to play in the Davidson Tournament along with East Carolina, Presbyterian, and Davidson, before heading to Greenville, N.C. on Sept. 11-12 for the East Carolina Tournament.
That tournament field will include Western Carolina, William & Mary, and Tennessee State.
The Lady Pirates will head to Richmond, Va. on Sept. 15 to take on VCU, before heading to Raleigh, N.C. on Sept. 18-19 for the N.C. State Tournament. The field will include ACC school N.C. State, Campbell, and Tennessee out of the SEC.
Yancey began her collegiate playing career at N.C. State.
MEAC play will start on Friday, Sept. 25, when the Lady Pirates hold their home opener in Holland Hall against Morgan State. Coppin State will then pay Hampton a visit on Sept. 27, before the Lady Pirates hit the road for three straight.
That string will open at Maryland Eastern Shore on Oct. 4, before the Lady Pirates head to Washington, D.C. to take on rival Howard on Oct. 9 and cross the James River on Oct. 16 to square off against rival Norfolk State.
Hampton will return home on Oct. 18 to take on UMES, before heading to Baltimore, Md. on the weekend of Oct. 23-25. The Lady Pirates will take on Morgan State on Friday, Oct. 23, before squaring off against Coppin State on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The Lady Pirates will then have three straight in Holland Hall, taking on Howard on Oct. 30 before playing host to Delaware State on Nov. 6 and celebrating Senior Day on Sunday, Nov. 8 against Norfolk State.
The regular season will wrap up on Nov. 13 at Delaware State.
The 2015 MEAC Volleyball Championships will be held Nov. 21-23 this season in Princess Anne, Md., with Maryland Eastern Shore serving as host school.
Dates and times are subject to change.
Yancey will be joined on the bench this season by Dexter Powers and Sonja Maksimovic, who will serve as assistant coach and graduate assistant coach, respectively. Powers served two seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia Wesleyan, and at Hampton he’ll be primarily responsible for film analysis, recruiting, working with setters, and coordinating team travel.
Maksimovic was a four-year starter for the Lady Pirates, earning Third Team All-MEAC honors this past season. The two-time MEAC All-Academic honoree was a key contributor in Hampton’s back-to-back MEAC championship squads.
This past season, she ranked third on the team in both kills (2.38) and points (2.68) per set.