Dillard Lady Bleu Devils Announces 2018 Volley Schedule

ORLEANS, Louisiana – Three regular-season tournaments, two 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship teams and a challenging Gulf Coast Athletic Conference slate, highlight a 33-match schedule for the Lady Bleu Devil volleyball team.

"With hard work and determination, we're looking forward to the start of the season," said head coach Nancy Sikobe.

In just her second season at the helm, Sikobe led Dillard to 21 wins and a berth in the 2017 GCAC Tournament championships match. The Lady Bleu Devils finished 21-19 overall and second in conference at 9-3.

Lady Bleu Devils Will Host Season Opening Tournament Aug. 24-25

Dillard returns nine letterwinners and three starters, plus its libero, from the 2017 season. However, the Lady Bleu Devils lose GCAC Player and Attacker of the Year in Shelby Stewart to graduation.

Dillard will host the DU Volleyball Classic Aug. 24-25 to open the season for the second straight year. The Lady Bleu Devils face Jarvis Christian College and Talladega College Aug. 24 before another doubleheader against Huston-Tillotson University and Loyola University New Orleans Aug. 25.

Following the DU Volleyball Classic, the Lady Bleu Devils hit the road for 13 of their next 14 matches starting with a trip to Alabama to face Mobile Aug. 28. The Rams finished 38-4 last season en route to winning the Southern States Athletic Conference and earning a berth to the NAIA National Volleyball Championship.

"It's always good playing strong non-conference teams before the beginning of conference play to get the team ready," said Sikobe.

The Lady Bleu Devils head to Houston for the St. Thomas Invitational (Sept. 1-2), before returning home to face Wiley College (Sept. 3). After 10 non-conference matches, the Lady Bleu Devils open conference action at Southern University at New Orleans on Sept. 4. Dillard then travels to Jackson, Mississippi, for the Millsaps College Invitational (Sept. 7-8) for its third tournament of the regular season. The Lady Bleu Devils then visit Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 13) before resuming conference play.

A four-match conference road trip follows as Dillard takes on rival and 2017 GCAC Tournament champion Xavier University of Louisiana (Sept. 15), Tougaloo College (Sept. 17), Edward Waters College (Sept. 22), and Talladega College (Sept. 24).

The Lady Bleu Devils return to New Orleans for a five-match homestand beginning with Philander Smith College (Sept. 29), before a matchup with conference newcomer Rust College (Oct. 1). Dillard will then host Mobile (Oct. 4), Tougaloo (Oct. 6) and XULA (Oct. 8), before road match at Rust (Oct. 13).

Dillard then opens a three-match homestand against MVSU (Oct. 15), Talladega (Oct. 20) and Edward Waters (Oct. 22), before a showdown with Wiley (Oct. 26).

DU will begin a four-match road trip in Hawkins, Texas, against Jarvis Christian College and Dallas Christian College on Oct. 27. The Lady Bleu Devils closes out conference play at Philander Smith (Oct. 29) before playing at Loyola University New Orleans (Nov. 2). Dillard will close out the regular season on Senior Night against SUNO Nov. 3.

The GCAC Tournament takes place Nov. 9-10 with the location to be determined.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Lady Bleu Devils by following Dillard Athletics on Twitter at @GeauxDU, Facebook at Facebook.com/dillardbleudevils/ and Instagram at Instagram.com/dillardbleudevils/.

VOLLEYBALLRecord: 19-18 Home: 8-5 Away: 7-4 Neutral: 4-9 GCAC: 9-3
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