ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany volleyball team is set for a competitive fall as the Great Danes announced their 2023 schedule, Wednesday.
 
The 2023 season features two opponents that competed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, including UCF, a school that made it to the second round, and Colgate. The 2023 slate will see three opponents from Power Five conferences - Syracuse, West Virginia, and UCF - with two additional opponents from the Atlantic-10 - George Mason and Saint Louis.
 
"We are very excited to be opening our season at home," said head coach Josh Pickard. "Welcoming UCF, the Naval Academy and Syracuse to Albany is a great way to kick off the 2023 season. The rest of our preconference season is designed to prepare us for a tough America East season. Although there are few matches in our conference schedule, the level of volleyball has really increased in the past few years and we are excited to see where we rank.  Through a mix of conference opponents and midweek matches in the Northeast, we hope to be peaking heading into postseason play."
 
For the first time in over 20 years, just the third time in Division I program history, the Great Danes will begin the season at home. Welcoming Syracuse, Navy, and American Athletic Conference Regular Season Co-Champions, UCF, UAlbany will host a tournament from August 25-27.
 
The Great Danes will head to Michigan for their second tournament. Hosted by Central Michigan, UAlbany will face Saint Louis and Bradley in addition to the host.
 
After a single-game matchup at St. John's (Sept. 5), the Great Danes head to the Finger Lakes region for games against Cornell, Colgate, and West Virginia in a tournament hosted by the 2022 Patriot League Champions, the Red Raiders.
 
In their final regular-season tournament, UAlbany is set to head south to George Mason. Competing against the host in the first match of the weekend (Sept. 15), the Great Danes will play MTSU and Seattle the following day.
 
Before beginning conference play, the Purple and Gold hosts crosstown rival, Siena (Sept. 20), and visits Sacred Heart (Sept. 27) for two midweek matches.
 
The Great Danes open October with an away game at NJIT before hosting three-straight matches - Bryant, UMBC, and Binghamton.
 
Seeing one home game in a four-game stretch, UAlbany will host NJIT (Oct. 22) with road games against New Hampshire, Binghamton, and Bryant. 
 
After a final non-conference matchup against LIU (Oct. 31), the Great Danes see two Sunday contests - New Hampshire at home (Nov, 5) and UMBC on the road (Nov. 12) to close the regular season. 
 
The Great Danes will compete for a chance to make the 2023 conference tournament and win their first tournament title since 2019. Hosted by the league's regular-season champion, the America East Tournament will be played during the Nov, 17-19 weekend.
 
Note: Due to the renovations in the PE Building and Broadview Arena, the location of UAlbany's home games will continue at Russell Sage's Robison Gym at the Kahl Campus Center. The UAlbany Invitational will take place at the Albany Capital Center.
 
To view the full 2023 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 & Threads - @ualbanyvb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyVB