View complete 2009 Liberty volleyball schedule

The number "3" is a frequently occurring theme with regard to the 2009 Liberty volleyball schedule. The Lady Flames, who will aim for their third consecutive Big South title, will meet three 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, three ACC teams and three first-time opponents, highlighting the 2009 season slate.

Head coach Shane Pinder's Lady Flames, who have gone 29-4 against Big South opponents during the past two seasons, will tune up for conference play with a quartet of weekend tournaments to open the year.

Liberty will begin the season the weekend of Aug. 28-29, when the Lady Flames travel across the Commonwealth for Virginia Tech's Hokie Invitational at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The Lady Flames will face UNC Greensboro in the season and tournament opener, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m. Liberty will then play a pair of Sept. 5 matches, meeting Montana for the first time in program history and squaring off with host Virginia Tech in the tournament finale.

The Lady Flames will return to the Vines Center the following weekend (Sept. 4-5) to host the Liberty Invitational. Liberty's home opener, the first of 11 matches the Lady Flames are scheduled to play at the Vines Center in 2009—will be a Sept. 4 tilt against East Tennessee State at 7 p.m. Liberty will then play a pair of contests on Sept. 5, versus Elon and Howard, to wrap up the weekend invitational.

The next weekend (Sept. 11-12) will see the Lady Flames make their longest road trip of the regular season. Liberty will visit Louisville for the first time, to participate in the Cardinals' home tournament. The Lady Flames will square off with two 2008 NCAA Tournament participants—Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech and Louisville—and face Toledo for the first time.

Liberty's tournament portion of the schedule will draw to a close Sept. 18-19, with arguably the team's most challenging weekend. The Lady Flames will venture to Winston-Salem, N.C., for Wake Forest's Black & Gold Challenge. After battling Appalachian State on Sept. 18, Liberty will gear up for a pair of ACC opponents the following day. The Lady Flames are scheduled to face 2008 ACC co-champion Duke, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and host Wake Forest, coming off a 19-13 campaign, on Sept. 19.

The Lady Flames will then open their 16-match Big South Conference schedule with a bang. Perennial conference title contender Winthrop will visit the Vines Center Sept. 25 for Liberty's Big South home opener. The following day, Liberty is scheduled to host Coastal Carolina in a rematch of the 2008 Big South Championship title match.

The Lady Flames' October schedule opens on the month's second day, when Liberty will attempt to avenge a loss from the 2008 season at Presbyterian's Templeton Arena.

Liberty will return to Lynchburg for an Oct. 6 meeting with Commonwealth rival Radford, before embarking on a difficult series of road matches.

The Lady Flames will play eight matches in 19 days (Oct. 9-27), including seven contests away from the Vines Center. The lone home tilt sandwiched in the extended road swing is an Oct. 16 meeting with Charleston Southern.

The challenging series of road matches includes contests at Gardner-Webb (Oct. 9), UNC Asheville (Oct. 10), High Point (Oct. 13), Radford (Oct. 20), Coastal Carolina (Oct. 23), Winthrop (Oct. 24) and the Lady Flames' final non-conference match prior to the Big South Volleyball Championship, at VCU (Oct. 27).

Liberty will then play four straight home matches, marking the Lady Flames' longest homestand of the season. The run will begin with Presbyterian's visit to the Vines Center on Oct. 31. UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb will come to town for a pair of weekend matches, Nov. 6 and 7, respectively. High Point, one of the co-Big South regular-season champions in 2008, will be Liberty's opponent for the Nov. 10 home finale.

The Lady Flames' third trip to South Carolina during the season will take them to Charleston Southern on Nov. 14, for the team's final regular-season match.

Liberty will remain within the Commonwealth for the 2009 Big South Volleyball Championship. The tournament will be played Nov. 19-21, inside Radford's newly renovated Dedmon Center.

After the conference tournament, Liberty will visit a familiar location on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 27-28). The Lady Flames are entered in VCU's Thanksgiving Tournament, which will be Liberty's fourth tournament at the Alltel Pavilion in the last three seasons.

The 2009 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship will begin the weekend of Dec. 3-6, at selected on-campus locations.