NEWARK, Del. - - With the NCAA hosting the 2018 Fall Festival in Pittsburgh at the end of the season, the Wilmington University volleyball schedule gets off to a faster start this year and head coach Kim Huggins-Habbert has taken full advantage as she announces the 2018 Wildcat schedule.
The Wildcats are looking to get back to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament for the first time since 2015, capping a stretch in which they made the CACC Tournament Semifinals five years in a row including a trip to the 2012 CACC Tournament Championship match. The Wildcats went 14-18 overall last year, narrowly missing the CACC Tournament with a 10-9 conference mark.
This season, Habbert and the Wildcats begin their regular season on Friday, August 24, allowing the team to play in three early season tournaments, including hosting their annual Wildcat Regional Invitational at the WU Athletics Complex to highlight the year.
The 2018 slate begins with a trip to regional foe Franklin Pierce, but the Wildcats get to play three non-regional opponents, including one team that earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The season begins on Friday August 24 with matches against Grand Valley State and California (Pa.) before playing Texas A&M International and East Regional No. 3 LIU Post on Saturday, August 25.
The team's next trip takes them to the Sunshine State, as they play Florida Tech and Rollins at Rollins College on Friday, August 31. The Wildcats take a short trip to 2017 NCAA Runner-Up Florida Southern College the next day to play against South Regional No. 7 West Texas A&M and Catawba.
The CACC portion of the schedule begins with a trip to Chestnut Hill on Wednesday, September 5 before the team makes its home debut with the 2018 Wildcat Regional Invitational on Friday, September 7 and Saturday, September 8. The eight-team tournament will feature matches against Merrimack, East Regional Tournament No. 6 American International, East Regional Tournament No. 5 Southern Connecticut State, and Franklin Pierce.
The CACC schedule will once again feature home-and-homes with the South Division teams of Chestnut Hill, Georgian Court, Goldey-Beacom, Holy Family, Jefferson, and USciences while only playing the North Division teams one time throughout the year.
The Wildcats will have the chance to host Post, Nyack (Homecoming on September 29), reigning CACC Tournament Champion and East Regional Tournament No. 8 Caldwell, and Concordia from the North Division. They will travel to play Bloomfield, Dominican, and Felician. Their final nonconference game will be on Monday, October 29 at Adelphi.
The goal is to be one of the top four teams in the South Division at the end of the regular season. The top two teams from each division will host a CACC Tournament First Round game, with the four winners meeting in the CACC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday, November 10 at Georgian Court University. A champion will be crowned on Sunday, November 11 in Lakewood, New Jersey.
To see the complete 2018 volleyball schedule, please click here.