ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany volleyball team is set for a competitive fall as the Great Danes announced their 2022 schedule, Friday.
 
The 2022 season features five opponents that competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including Penn State, a school that made it to the second round, Colgate, Howard, Sacred Heart, and UMBC. The 2022 slate will see two opponents from the Big Ten - Michigan State and Penn State.
 
"We are excited to get back on the court with a great slate of opponents this season," said head coach Josh Pickard. "We are pitting ourselves against a great number of teams who are at the top of their respective conferences in an effort to prepare us for our America East season. Four weekends on the road will give us a great idea of how the team will look going into the heart of our conference season. Our goal is to be playing our best volleyball at the end of the season."
 
After an exhibition match at Army, the Great Danes will open the season at James Madison University with the first of four tournaments. Featuring Kent State and Robert Morris, UAlbany will see the Golden Flashes on August 26 to begin the two-day tournament.
 
Navy hosts the Great Danes' second tournament of the season, September 2-3. Starting the weekend with Michigan State and VCU on the second, the Great Danes will close out the contest against the host (Sept. 3).
 
UAlbany will stay on the road but close to home, heading to Cornell for their next tournament (Sept. 9-10). The Great Danes will face off against Temple and Colgate, the 2021 Patriot League Champions, as well as the hosting Big Red.
 
In between early season tournament play, UAlbany is set to host Marist for its first home game of the season (Sept. 13).
 
In their final tournament of the regular season, UAlbany will head to Penn State of the Big Ten (Sept. 16-17). Opening the tournament against Coastal Carolina, the Great Danes will close the weekend's play against Howard, the 2021 MEAC Champions. 
 
After a single match against crosstown rival, Siena (Sept. 27), UAlbany will open conference play at New Hampshire on the last day of September.
 
October will see four home and four away competitions with two non-conference matchups - Stonehill (Oct. 6) and Sacred Heart (Oct. 18), the 2021 NEC Champions.
 
The Great Danes will begin October play by hosting NJIT (Oct. 2) before heading on the road for three-straight matches that include Bryant (Oct. 7), a new America East conference member, and an America East Championship rematch against UMBC (Oct. 16). The Retrievers and the Great Danes have met for the America East Championship in each of the last two season with UMBC taking the win, once in Albany (April 2021) and once in Baltimore (November 2021).
 
Set for their longest home streak of the 2022 season, UAlbany will host Sacred Heart, Binghamton (Oct. 21), and Bryant (Oct. 23). 
 
The Great Danes will head on the road for two matches, NJIT (Oct. 30) and Binghamton (Nov. 6), before returning home to close the regular season.
 
UAlbany will cap off 2022 with New Hampshire (Nov. 11) and UMBC (Nov. 13).
 
The Great Danes will compete for their first conference tournament title since 2019 as the America East Tournament will be played from Nov. 18-19, hosted by the league's regular-season champion. 
 
Note: Due to the renovations in the PE Building and SEFCU Arena, the location of UAlbany's home games is to be determined. More details will be made available in the coming weeks.
 
To view the full 2022 schedule, click here.

For more information on the University at Albany volleyball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanyvb
Instagram - @ualbanyvb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyVB