Volleyball Unveils 2021 Schedule
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) volleyball team and first-year head coach Sheila Gisbrecht have announced the schedule for the upcoming 2021 season. Highlighting the Blue Jays' 21-match regular-season slate are nine home matches which are set to be played in the brand new O'Connell Center Addition which was just recently completed in May of 2021.
The Blue Jays waste no time debuting their brand new court and will play the first official game inside the new O'Connell Center on Saturday, September 4 versus Mount Holyoke. First serve of the grand opening home match between the Blue Jays and Lyons is set for 12:00 p.m.
USJ will then travel the following week to faceoff with New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and crosstown foe Trinity College on Tuesday, September 7, before competing in its first tri-match of the 2021 season on Saturday, September 11. The weekend tri-match will be hosted by Smith College and also feature Bay Path University.
That sets up the beginning of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play where Gisbrecht and the Blue Jays host newcomer to the GNAC, Elms College, for their conference opener on Wednesday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. While Elms is a newcomer to the league, they are no stranger to Gisbrecht, who spent the previous 13 seasons as the head coach of the Blazers before being hired as the head coach at USJ in August.
The Blue Jays have a week off to prepare for their next match which is on the road at intrastate and Little East Conference (LEC) opponent Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday, September 22, before playing in their first GNAC tri-match on Saturday, September 25. The GNAC tri-match will be hosted by Rivier University with Simmons University.
As September comes to a close, Saint Joseph hosts Lesley University for a midweek non-conference match on Wednesday, September 30 before their longest road stretch of the campaign in the beginning of October. Back-to-back Saturday road GNAC tri-matches kickoff the month where the Blue Jays first tri-match is at Lasell with Colby-Sawyer (Oct. 2) and then at perennial conference powerhouse Johnson & Wales with Emmanuel (Oct. 9).
The Blue Jays then return to West Hartford for a midweek non-conference match versus intrastate opponent Mitchell College on Thursday, October 14 ahead of their first of two home tri-matches on the 2021 docket. On Saturday, October 16, USJ will host Regis College for an 11:00 a.m. match and then Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 3:00 p.m. inside the 'OC'.
A big road GNAC match is next for the Blue Jays as they travel to conference rival Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, October 19 before making the trip to Dean College on Saturday, October 23. Then, rounding out the schedule is three home matches. First, USJ will host Salem State in its final non-conference match of the year on Tuesday, October 26, followed by a regular-season home tri-match finale on Saturday, October 30, hosting Anna Maria and Norwich.
The top-eight teams in the league standings will advance to the 2021 GNAC Tournament, which is set to begin with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, November 2, with the top-four seeds serving as hosts. The semifinals will be held on Thursday, November 4 by the remaining two highest seeds, followed by the championship match on Saturday, November 6 by the highest remaining seed.
The Blue Jays finished tied for seventh in the regular-season standings at the conclusion of the 2019 campaign and just missed out on a playoff berth, losing the three-way tiebreaker for the final two spots. USJ will look to get over the hump this season and make their first playoff appearance since the 2014 season. The 2020 season was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Admission to all USJ regular-season volleyball games in 2021 is free of charge. At this time USJ intends to allow spectators for home games and will follow all campus, town, and state guidelines regarding COVID-19.
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