LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis women's volleyball announced its 2024 schedule on Friday.
The Red Flash's season will feature four tournaments, including the Red Flash Classic, before a full slate of Northeast Conference opponents. New this season, Saint Francis will face NEC teams in back-to-back matches, rather than a rotation of opponents as seen in previous seasons.
"The 2024 non-conference schedule is filled with new gyms and opponents," head coach Sara Spielvogel said. "We will be playing very good competition that will help us learn our weaknesses and grow our strengths before we begin NEC play. We can't wait to get the season started!"
To open the 2024 campaign, the Red Flash will travel to Maryland to play in the Towson-Morgan State Invitational. The season's opening match will take place against former conference foe, Duquesne on August 30 before facing both host institutions and Lehigh in the two-day tournament.
Saint Francis will host Mercyhurst, Siena and the University of Pennsylvania in the 24th Red Flash Classic. They will play the Lakers during the conference slate but will face off against U Penn on September 6 and Siena the following evening. Friday night's home debut marks the first time the Red Flash will face the Quakers.
The team will head to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on Sacramento State for the first time as part of the Michigan Invitational on September 12. To round out the weekend, Saint Francis will play Akron and Oakland in Rochester, Mich on the 13th and 14th.
In their final tournament before conference play, the Red Flash will play in the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational, taking place September 20 and 21. The squad will face Indiana State and the tournament host Mastodons on Friday, concluding the non-conference schedule against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Saint Francis will face its first conference matches on the road against LIU on October 4 and 5, returning to DeGol Arena on October 11 and 12 to host CCSU.
On October 18 and 19, the Red Flash will face Mercyhurst in enemy territory, who announced they were joining the NEC back in April. While the Lakers are new to the conference, they are not a new opponent, having faced them in five matches between 1984 and 1990.
Wrapping up October, Saint Francis will host FDU for matches on the 25th and 26th before heading out on back-to-back road trips. Saturday's match (October 26) will be the team's annual Dig Pink match as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The team will play Stonehill on November 1 and 2 and the Dolphins of Le Moyne on November 8 and 9.
Concluding the regular season, the Red Flash will host Chicago State on November 15 and 16. The program's seniors will be honored before the match on the 16th. Chicago State is new to the conference, but Saint Francis is 3-1 against the Cougars, having played them last in 2005.
The Red Flash will have their sights set on the NEC Championship Tournament on November 22 and 23, hosted by the regular season champion.
