DURHAM, N.C. – Second-year head coach Nicki Holmes has constructed an exciting 29-match schedule for his North Carolina Central University volleyball program this upcoming fall 2015 season announced Tuesday.

The Lady Eagles schedule features nine home matches and four weekend invitational beginning with the Gamecock Invitational hosted by the University of South Carolina on August 28-29.

NCCU will play three non-conference matches in each of its four consecutive weekend events. Following the Gamecock Invite, the Lady Eagles will participate in the Phoenix Classic (Elon University), UMES Fall Invitational and James Madison University Classic.  Those 12 matches include NCCU’s season opener against local foe North Carolina State University at USC and other neutral site matches against marquee names like Wake Forest University and Georgetown University.

Maroon and Gray fans will not have to wait long to see this year’s edition of NCCU volleyball at home with the Lady Eagles hosting East Carolina University on Tuesday, September 1. NCCU will host three other non-conference opponents beginning with a clash against Alabama State University on September 10. The Hornets advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In addition, NCCU will entertain Winthrop University and Gardner-Webb University as part of a pair of non-conference home-and-away series.

The Lady Eagles will play a total of 19 non-conference matches with only three of them occurring after the calendar flips to October including a short trip over to Campbell University for a weeknight tilt.

NCCU will once again play its traditional slate of 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season matches against its five Southern Division rivals of North Carolina A&T University, South Carolina State University, Savannah State University, Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University.

The top four teams from the Southern Division will advance to the 2015 MEAC Championships, which will be hosted by UMES in Princess Anne, Maryland, from November 20-22.