WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford volleyball head coach Vinh Nguyen has announced the schedule for the 2019 season. Highlighting the 27-game regular-season slate are 11 home matches against opponents from five conferences inside the Hartford Volleyball Gym, including the Summit League, the Northeast Conference, the Patriot League, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10.
 
Click HERE to view the full 2019 volleyball schedule.
 
"Our non-conference schedule is a good balance for our team that will consist of a mix of veterans and some very talented new comers joining our 2019 squad," said Nguyen. "The schedule will feature three teams that made it to the NCAA tournament last year: Bryant from the NEC, Howard from the MEAC and Hofstra from the CAA." 
 
The Hawks kick off the season in the nation's capital with three matches at the George Washington Invitational (Aug. 30-31) against Howard, George Washington and American. Last season, the Bison captured their fourth-straight MEAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament bid by defeating North Carolina A&T in the league's title match. 
 
It's right back to the road for the Hawks for their next seven matches, starting with the Cornell Invitational (Sept. 6-7) and the Dartmouth Invitational (Sept. 13-14). Capping off the longest road stretch of the season is a match at Holy Cross on Sept. 17.
 
After a 10-match road trip to open the campaign, the Hawks make their highly anticipated debut in West Hartford, where they will play six of their next eight matches. The Hartford Hawks Invitational — which features matches against Lafayette and UMES on Sept. 20, and dates with St. Francis Brooklyn and CCSU on Sept. 21 — kicks off the homecoming. Hartford will look to defend its title in its host tournament, as it knocked off Niagara, Brown and Bucknell a year ago.
 
Following a trip to Bryant (Sept. 24), the Hawks return home to open America East play against reigning league champion Stony Brook (Sept. 27). Two more road games will be on the docket after a road tilt against Binghamton (Oct. 4), as the Hawks play host to UMBC (Oct. 11) and UAlbany (Oct. 13).
 
"We had a great breakout season last year with the help of solid veterans and a talented young core that will return this upcoming season," said Nguyen. "We worked very diligently during the off-season on fundamentals to shore up consistencies. This year will be about staying humble, hungry and continuing to grind because we know we can accomplish a lot as long as we work together."
 
After road dates with New Hampshire (Oct. 18) and Stony Brook (Oct. 25), Hartford hosts Merrimack — which is in its first season at the Division I level — for its final non-conference match of the season.
 
The Hawks close out the regular season with three of their final four matches at home, starting with Binghamton on Nov. 3. After a Friday night road date with UAlbany (Nov. 8), Hartford wraps up the regular-season slate against UMBC (Nov. 10) and New Hampshire (Nov. 17). The America East Tournament is scheduled to begin Nov. 22.
 
Admission is free for all home games.
 
For more information on the Hartford volleyball team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram)