HAMPTON, Va. -- Hampton University and first-year head coach Sonja Maksimovic announced the Lady Pirates' 2021 schedule on Friday with eight home matches on the slate.

"This schedule will be a good test for our team to prepare for a tough Big South Conference," she said.  "With sitting out last year, the non-conference games will provide even more help to get us ready for conference."

Hampton opens its season at a multi-team event hosted by Old Dominion on August 27-28.  The Lady Pirates will open with Old Dominion and then face Loyola (MD) on Aug. 27 and will tangle with Big 12 member West Virginia on Aug. 28.

After a mid-week matchup with rival Norfolk State on August 31, the Lady Pirates will head up Interstate 64 to face off with William & Mary on September 10.   The last non-conference matchups will take place in Princess Anne, Md. at the Henson Hawk Invitational hosted by former conference foe Maryland-Eastern Shore on September 18.  Hampton will open the day facing St. Francis (PA) at noon and then the hosts at 4 pm.

Big South Conference action will start up in October as Hampton will open at home against USC Upstate (Oct. 1) and UNC Asheville (Oct. 2).  Hampton will hit the road the next weekend to take on a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifiers as they'll face former conference rival North Carolina A&T (Oct. 8) and High Point (Oct. 9).  The following weekend they'll head to Gardner-Webb (Oct. 15) and Winthrop (Oct. 16).

The Lady Pirates will start a four-match homestand taking on Campbell (Oct. 19) and Radford (Oct. 22) before hosting High Point (Oct. 29) and N.C. A&T (Oct. 30) to close out the month.

November begins with the final regular season road swing heading to UNC Asheville (Nov. 5) and USC Upstate (Nov. 6) before closing out the regular season with Charleston Southern (Nov. 12) and Presbyterian (Nov. 13).  The Big South Conference tournament will be hosted by Campbell on Nov. 19-21. 

For more information on Hampton University volleyball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.