SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara volleyball announced its 2021 schedule Thursday, a slate that features nine home matches and seven contests against teams that made last season's NCAA Tournament.
The Broncos, entering their third season under head coach Erin Lindsey, are scheduled for 27 matches after being limited to 18 in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santa Clara begins the campaign on Aug. 27 at the Oregon Invitational in Eugene, Oregon and will face local rival San José State in the season-opening match before taking the court against the tournament host Ducks. The team caps opening weekend against Portland State on Aug. 28.
Santa Clara plays three more nonconference tournaments:
2021 Aggie Invitational (Davis, California): vs Nevada Sept. 3, at UC Davis Sept. 4
KSU Challenge (Kennesaw, Georgia): vs South Carolina Sept. 10, vs Clemson Sept. 11
Boise State Classic (Boise, Idaho): at Boise State Sept. 16, vs Oregon State Sept. 17
SCU's home opener is also its first West Coast Conference match as it host LMU on Sept. 23. The Broncos will be in Leavey Center for five of their first six conference matches, a stretch that also includes matchups against Pepperdine (Sept. 25), BYU (Sept. 30), San Diego (Oct. 2) and San Francisco (Oct. 9). The team's first conference road match is Sept. 28 at Saint Mary's.
The Broncos are on the road at Portland (Oct. 14) and Gonzaga (Oct. 16) before returning home to wrap up the first half of WCC action against Pacific (Oct. 21). They host Saint Mary's on Oct. 23 prior to three straight road tilts: at San Diego Oct. 28, at BYU Oct. 30 and at San Francisco Nov. 5.
Santa Clara's final two home matches in the regular season are against Gonzaga (Nov. 11) and Portland (Nov. 13). The team plays six of its last eight contests on the road, including three straight (at LMU Nov. 18, at Pepperdine Nov. 20, at Pacific Nov. 23) to close out the regular season.
The NCAA Tournament begins Dec. 3 and concludes with the national championship match on Dec. 18.
Each of the four opponents on the schedule that made the 2020 NCAA Tournament — Oregon, BYU, San Diego and Pepperdine — won one match in the postseason. The Ducks were seeded 10th and the Cougars were seeded 16th.
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