Auburn's 2016 volleyball team is set to take on a challenging schedule that includes eight NCAA Tournament participants and two home tournaments, head coach Rick Nold announced Wednesday.
Five of the Tigers six starters are returning for the 2016 season after posting 18-12 overall and 10-8 SEC records in 2015.
"We are really excited about the schedule we have planned for 2016," Nold said. "Our goal was to provide this team the type of competition it will need to be best prepared for both the SEC season and the NCAA Tournament. I believe we have done that."
Sixteen matches will be held at home in the Auburn Arena, beginning with the War Eagle Invitational Aug. 26-27. Auburn will host Georgia Tech, Furman and Pacific with the first match beginning at 7 p.m. CST on Friday, Aug. 26, against the Yellow Jackets.
The Tigers will also face off against national powerhouses Louisville and Michigan on the road, concluding the non-conference schedule at the Michigan Invitational in September.
Auburn opens SEC play at home against LSU before traveling to Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Georgia. The squad will then return home to host Missouri and rival Alabama on the Plains for their first meeting of the season.
"We have three former Final Four teams in addition to many teams we expect to compete for their conference championships," said Nold. "As a team, we are ready for this challenge and we look forward to an exciting season."
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