AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific volleyball head coach Chris Keife has announced the Cougars’ 2009 schedule, a 32-match slate that includes 20 matches in the NAIA’s premier volleyball conference, the Golden State Athletic Conference. Azusa Pacific was 1 of 7 GSAC representatives in the 20-team field at the final site of last year’s NAIA Volleyball National Championship, where all 4 semifinal programs hailed from the GSAC for the second straight season.

The Cougars open the 2009 campaign at home, hosting 13 teams for the season-opening Cougar Classic Aug. 21-22. The 2-day, 26-match tournament will occupy 3 Felix Event Center courts, and 3 of Azusa Pacific’s 4 opponents in the tournament were 2008 postseason participants at the conference tournament level.

The following week, the Cougars will be tested against some of the best NAIA volleyball programs outside of the GSAC at Northwestern (Iowa) College’s Red Raider Classic Aug. 28-29 in Orange City, Iowa. All 4 of Azusa Pacific’s Red Raider Classic foes advanced into the 20-team national tournament final site field a year ago, including tournament host and 2008 NAIA quarterfinalist Northwestern (Iowa).

The final tune-up prior to a brutal GSAC schedule is another 4-match tournament, the Concordia-hosted Asics/Crowne Plaza Labor Day Tournament Sept. 4-5. Two of the Cougars’ opponents there were also 2008 NAIA Tournament final site participants.

“We’re definitely going to be tested early on,” Keife said. “The teams we’ll be playing will give us a good test to see the level we’re at, and hopefully it will prepare us for the grueling task the conference schedule provides.”

After the 12-match opening stretch that includes 6 participants in last year’s NAIA Tournament final site, Azusa Pacific launches into its home GSAC opener against 2008 NAIA semifinalist California Baptist. In late October, the Cougars host back-to-back matches against Point Loma Nazarene (2008 NAIA quarterfinalist) and Biola (2008 NAIA semifinalist) before a 4-match road trip that begins with visits to Vanguard (2008 NAIA playoff round) and defending NAIA champion Fresno Pacific. The regular-season finale is a Friday night matchup with defending NAIA runner-up Concordia at the Felix Event Center.

In all, 15 of the Cougars’ 22 opponents posted winning campaigns in 2008, and 12 programs are coming off 20-win campaigns a year ago. Eighteen of the 32 matches scheduled are against teams that advanced to the final site of the 2008 NAIA Tournament, and 11 of Azusa Pacific’s 12 non-conference foes were 2008 postseason participants.

The GSAC has produced at least 1 NAIA semifinalist in 18 consecutive national tournaments, and the conference has been represented in each of the past 6 NAIA championship matches.

Click here to view the full 2009 Azusa Pacific volleyball schedule, or navigate to the schedule/results page through Azusa Pacific’s athletics website at www.apu.edu/athletics/volleyball.