BIRMINGHAM – UAB volleyball head coach Betsy Freeburg has released the Blazers’ 2022 schedule. The 26-game slate features three 2021 NCAA Tournament teams, four tournaments, 14 Conference USA matches and 14 contests played at Bartow Arena.
“We have a difficult non-conference section of our schedule that is going to challenge us to compete early,” said Freeburg. “We’re looking forward to hosting some in-state foes in Bartow Arena when we play Samford, Auburn and Troy and are looking forward to getting Birmingham fans fired up about UAB Volleyball as we head into C-USA play.”
Prior to the regular season, the Blazers will host Jacksonville State in an exhibition match on Aug. 19.
The first tournament of the season begins in Buffalo Aug. 26-27. The Blazers will take on the host Bulls, Xavier and Cleveland State.
The next two weekends will be spent at Bartow Arena beginning Sept. 2-4 when UAB hosts Jackson State, Little Rock and cross-town rival Samford. The following weekend, the Blazers welcome Auburn, North Florida and Troy Sept. 9-11.
UAB hits the road on Sept. 14 to face Kennesaw State. They’ll visit Tallahassee Sept. 17-18 to face Florida State and defending SWAC champion Florida A&M.
“This is the first season in three years that C-USA has gone from a divisional format and we are excited to play some opponents we have not seen in three years,” said Freeburg.
UAB’s final season in Conference USA begins Sept. 23 when the Blazers host defending C-USA champion WKU. The Lady Tops had a 28-2 record along with a perfect 12-0 conference record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament while finishing with an AVCA ranking of 20 last season.
The first C-USA road match will be Sept. 25 at Charlotte. UAB returns home on Sept. 30 to face Middle Tennessee.
October starts out with a pair of matches in Florida – FIU on Oct. 7 and Florida Atlantic on Oct. 9.
The Blazers host Rice on Oct. 14. The Owls are coming off a 12-0 C-USA regular season and a berth in the C-USA championship match, falling to WKU. Rice advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament while receiving 12 votes in the final AVCA ranking. The weekend is closed out with LA Tech on Oct. 16.
UAB will face Middle Tennessee on Oct. 21 before Florida Atlantic comes to Bartow Arena on Oct. 23. The Blazers travel to WKU on Oct. 28 prior to closing out the home slate with Charlotte on Oct. 30 and UTSA on Nov. 4.
The final weekend of the regular season will be spent in Texas facing North Texas on Nov. 10 and UTEP on Nov. 12.
The 2022 Conference USA Women’s Volleyball Championship will be held in Bowling Green, Ky. beginning Nov. 18-20 hosted by WKU.
“We are returning our two-time First and Second Team All-CUSA outside hitters in Fernanda Maida and Alex Kells and adding a former First Team All-Southern Conference player in (Chattanooga transfer) Maia Rackel, so we expect to have a lot of experience on the court. We had a great spring of training and we cannot wait to get started back in August. We hope to see a lot of fans in Bartow Arena,” added Freeburg.
Volleyball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2021-22 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2021-22 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow @UAB_VB on Twitter and Instagram.
