HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team will get the 2012 season underway on Friday, Aug. 24, at the Hofstra Asics Invitational at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center in Hempstead, N.Y.  Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the Knights will go toe-to-toe with UC Riverside, Hofstra, Providence and Marist.

On Friday, the Burgundy and Blue will play against UC Riverside at 1:30 p.m. before taking on the host Hofstra at 7 p.m. The following day, FDU is scheduled to play Providence at 10 a.m. and Marist at 5:30 p.m. The Invitational will be the first matches of the season for all four schools.

Fairleigh Dickinson is coming off a 17-13 season and returning five players who saw action last season. Head Coach Stacey Recanati will again look to senior outside hitter Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) to carry the load on offense. The Chatsworth, Calif. native set FDU's single-season kills record with 528 last year and finished eighth in the nation with 4.71 kills per set.

The Knights also return two other players in junior Taylor Roland-Buohl (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) and sophomore Deborah Hong (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) who each played in more than 100 sets apiece in 2011.

Friday will be FDU's first-ever meeting with UC Riverside. The Highlanders put together a 7-23 mark last season, including 5-14 in matches away from home.

UCR enters this year with seven seniors on the roster. The Highlanders' three top offensive threats, outside hitters Amanda Vialpando, Shelby LeDuff and Bianca Endersby, are all back for their senior seasons. Vialpando led her team with 426 kills and 3.87 kills per set as a junior, while LeDuff and Endersby racked up 355 and 238 kills, respectively.

Hofstra will look to build on last season's 14-17 record. The Pride's top hitter, Nikki Kinnier, who had 366 kills in 2011, returns to the fold. Hofstra also brings back setter Catalina Charry and her 1,214 assists from a year ago, and libero Kylee Maneja, who picked up 540 digs.

The Pride started 7-0 to begin last year and finished with a 9-4 mark in home matches.  

In Saturday's first match, the Knights will face a familiar opponent in Providence. The Knights and Friars have squared off six times since 2005 with FDU winning four of those matches. Most recently in 2010, Providence beat FDU by a 3-0 margin.

In 2011, the Friars went 8-22 and 2-10 in the America East Conference. Providence had a balanced attack last season with six players recording at least 100 kills, but only two are back for the 2012 campaign.

FDU will also be facing Marist for the first time since losing to the Red Foxes, 3-1, in 2005. Marist, a team that finished 13-15 in 2011, was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC this season. The Red Foxes lost kills leader Joanna Foss to graduation, but still have Grace Hill, who recorded 305 kills last year as a sophomore.