AUGUSTA, Ga. – GRU Augusta Athletics, in conjunction with head volleyball coach Sharon Quarles, has announced the approaching 2014 schedule.
The Jaguars, return eight players from last year, including senior trio Maggie Darling, Kristen Koch, and Paige Tuttle. After a rebuilding season in 2013 with a young roster that featured only one senior, the Jags will look to make a new impression as they compete as Georgia Regents University for the second year.
"The schedule is balanced as well as challenging and I believe that by adding the regional teams, along with the conference schedule, it will provide a number of opportunities for this year's team, especially within the region," Quarles said.
GRU Augusta opens the season with a road tournament at the Queens Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. The Jags will meet Lenoir-Rhyne (10:30 a.m.) and Limestone (3:00 p.m.) in a pair of non-conference matches on Friday, Sept. 5, before facing Catawba (10:30 a.m.) and tourney-host Queens (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 6.
The Jaguars debut at home in Christenberry Fieldhouse from Sept. 12-13 at the GRU Augusta Invitational, a five-team tournament where the Jags will host Emmanuel (7:30 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 12, and Carson-Newman (2:00 p.m.) and Paine (6:00 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Jaguars will also host Paine vs. UNC Pembroke (5:00 p.m.) on Sept. 12, and Emmanuel vs. Paine (10:00 a.m.), Carson-Newman vs. UNC Pembroke (12:00 p.m.) and Emmanuel vs. UNC Pembroke (4:00 p.m.) on Sept. 13.
After a visit to Limestone in Gaffney, S.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 16, GRU commences Peach Belt Conference play with back-to-back league matches – starting with Armstrong (7:00 p.m.) on Sept. 19 and Flagler (2:00 p.m.) on Sept. 20. The Jags keep it in the league with trips to Columbus State on Sept. 24 and to rival USC Aiken on Sept. 26. The squad plays a dual match with Coker (2:00 p.m.) and Anderson (4:00 p.m.) in Anderson, S.C., on Sept. 27. The team travels on Oct. 1 to Clark-Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga., to face Montevallo (4:00 p.m.) and Clark-Atlanta (6:00 p.m.).
Hosting two more consecutive PBC matches against Francis Marion (7:00 p.m.) on Oct. 3 and UNC Pembroke (2:00 p.m.) on Oct. 4, the Jags hit the road again for five-straight away matches. GRU travels to Lander (Oct. 7) and Georgia College (Oct. 11) for more PBC action, before trips to non-conference Erskine (Oct. 14), and league-foes Flagler (Oct. 17), and Armstrong (Oct. 18) bring the Jaguars home.
GRU closes out October with five of their six matches at home in CFH, starting with Columbus State (7:00 p.m.) on Oct. 22 and Lander (7:00 p.m.) on Oct. 24. The Jags host a tri-match with USC Aiken and Claflin on Oct. 25, facing off against USCA at 1:00 p.m. and Claflin at 5:00 p.m. Montevallo visits Christenberry on Tuesday, Oct. 28 for a 6:00 p.m. PBC contest, before the Jags visit UNC Pembroke (7:00 p.m.) for a Halloween match on Oct. 31 and Francis Marion (2:00 p.m.) on Nov. 1.
A 7:00 p.m. match on Wednesday, Nov. 5 with Georgia College concludes the Jaguars' Peach Belt play and serves as the last regular-season home game of 2014. Non-conference matches against Belmont Abbey (2:00 p.m.) and Converse (4:00 p.m.) on Nov. 8 in Spartanburg, S.C., wraps up the regular season for the Jaguars.
To view the Full Schedule click here and to check out the 2014 Volleyball Media Guide click here