Women's Volleyball | 9/4/2014 10:50:00 AM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – West Alabama volleyball will open its 2014 season on the road in the Dunn Hospitality Invitational hosted by Southern Indiana on Friday. The Tigers will face McKendree at 8 a.m. and Ohio Dominican at 1 p.m. in the first day of the tournament.
 
The invitational marks the Tiger's second year under head coach Jordan Lay, who looks build on a 12-18 overall record a year ago. It will be the first college test for seven freshman on the squad who have already improved UWA's ten returners in the preseason.   

"Our overall depth in general has set us ahead of where we were last year," said Lay.

"Having these younger girls in here to push the competitiveness of our older girls has amped up the gym in general. I've never seen a new group push an older group so quickly like they have.

"Not scrimmaging anyone during the preseason has created a very competitive environment for our girls, but now they are chomping at the bit to prove there metal against somebody else. They are excited to go up against someone else on the other side of the net."

With Cedarville and Lincoln Memorial set to round out the competition for UWA on Saturday, the weekend's matchups will promise a diverse test for the team.    

"We are headed up to the Midwest which will be nice to face some different competition than we will have here in our region," Lay said.

"All the teams that we will face have, in the past few years, either been ranked in the Top 25 or have received votes, so it will be a good early test for our team. This should help prepare us for the rigors of the Gulf South Conference."

UWA's season opening opponent McKendree won eight of its last 11 matches in 2013 to finish 13-18 overall. The Bearcats were voted preseason fifth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) East Division.

Ohio Dominican comes off of a 14-16 overall record a year ago and picked fourth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division.

The Tigers will open the second day of the invitational against the preseason favorites to win the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), Cedarville. The Lady Jackets compiled a 23-14 and 12-2 G-MAC record last fall to share the regular season conference title with Kentucky Wesleyan.

Licoln Memorial hails from the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) where it was selected preseason third following an 18-13 and 14-8 record last season.       

The Tigers will face Cedarville and Lincoln Memorial at 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. respectively on Saturday.