STATESBORO, Ga. — A slate that includes 32 matches, 14 home, 11 away and seven at neutral sights, was unveiled as the 2010 competitive schedule for the Georgia Southern volleyball team.
Highlighting the promotional schedule will be the GSU Athletic Foundation Tailgate on Sept. 18 at
7 p.m. and the annual Dig Pink match set for Oct. 28 against Furman. The "Win a Wii courtesy of SpringHill Suites" season-long promotion will begin Sept. 6 and run through the end of the season to raffle off a Nintendo Wii. At every home contest, fans (including students and ticket holders) can sign-up once a match at the raffle center, which will be located inside the front gate of Hanner Fieldhouse. The winner will be announced during halftime of the final home match Nov. 9 against Davidson.
The Eagles open the schedule on the road with six straight matches, first traveling to the War Eagle Invitational at Auburn (Aug. 27-28) before meeting three neutral site teams at the MT Blue Raider Bash in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Sept. 3-4).
Originally scheduled to open at home against Savannah State on Aug. 31, the Eagles now will open their home slate Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. against the SSU Tigers.
Georgia Southern then travels to North Carolina State for the final road tournament of the season, Sept. 10-11. GSU will face Morehead State, Mercer and host Wolfpack in a two-day tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
The team then will play host to the SpringHill Suites Invitational, Sept. 16-18. South Alabama, Winthrop, East Tennessee State and Charleston Southern will visit Statesboro for a round-robin tournament to conclude the tournament portion of the schedule.
Several promotions are scheduled to take place during the tournament. The Eagles open the action facing South Alabama on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. Following the match, the team will host an autograph session for all fans. On Saturday, the first 100 fans in attendance to the East Tennessee State match at 10 a.m. will receive a free donut and the GSU Athletic Foundation Tailgate will take place that evening (6 p.m.) prior to the Charleston Southern match at 7 p.m. The tailgate will be held in front of Hanner Fieldhouse with free food and water.
Conference play kicks off Sept. 24-25 with visits to Wofford and Furman. There are 16 Southern Conference matches with eight taking place in Hanner Fieldhouse. After the Eagles open SoCon play on the road, they host the final home non-conference match against South Carolina State on Sept. 28.
GSU then welcomes Chattanooga on Bulloch County Education Night and Junior Eagle Club Night on Oct. 2. All Bulloch County teachers and students will be admitted free into the match upon statement of the school they attend or work at. In addition, all Junior Eagle Club members receive free admission with the presentation of their Junior Eagle Club membership card.
A trip to Charleston, S.C. will see matches against The Citadel and College of Charleston (Oct. 8-9) before GS welcomes UNC Greensboro and Elon on Oct. 15 and 17, respectively.
Following the two-match homestand, the Eagles hit the road for three straight conference matches beginning at Davidson and Western Carolina (Oct. 21-22). A visit to Boone, N.C. on Oct. 24 to face the Appalachian State Mountaineers concludes the three-match road trip as the Eagles welcome the Furman Paladins on Oct. 28 and Wofford Terriers on Oct. 30.
Dig Pink is set for Oct. 28 against Furman and all fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Donations will be accepted in the lobby of Hanner Fieldhouse during the match. On Oct. 30, admission will be free to all fans wearing a Halloween costume or with a football ticket from the Samford game that afternoon.
The final non-conference match will take place at North Florida on November 2 before Georgia Southern plays host to The Citadel and College of Charleston, Nov. 5-6. Nov. 5 has been designated BLUAU-Hawaiian Night. All fans are encouraged to dress in Hawaiian attire.
BLUE OUT is set for Nov. 6 against College of Charleston. All fans are encouraged to wear blue and all fans that present a football ticket from the afternoon game against Appalachian State will be admitted free. All Junior Eagle Club members also will receive free admission upon presentation of their membership card.
Senior Day and the final home match of the 2010 season is scheduled for Nov. 9 against the Davidson Wildcats at 6 p.m.
GSU closes out the regular season at Samford on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.
After condensing the SoCon Tournament in 2009 because economic considerations, the 2010 conference tournament will be restored to full participation levels to include the top eight teams. The 2010 SoCon Championship will take place in Boone, N.C., Nov. 19-21 with the top four teams from the North and South Divisions qualifying.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by going to www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Monken, Gus to meet fans at Harvey's
Georgia Southern Athletics sponsors Harvey’s Supermarkets and Coca-Cola are teaming up to bring Head Football Coach Jeff Monken to the Statesboro Harvey’s Fair Road location on Saturday, August 21 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Coach Monken will be signing autographs, taking photos with Eagle fans and talking about the upcoming 2010 football season. GUS also will be present at the event to hand out promotional items courtesy of Coca-Cola, as well as schedule cards and posters.
Fans who have not yet purchased their 2010 Football season tickets can purchase them at this event. For more information about this event, please call Athletics Marketing at 912-478-5377.
