HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Fairleigh Dickinson men's volleyball head coach Karl France announced his side's full regular season schedule on Thursday afternoon.
This will be the Knights first ever men's volleyball season, and their lone season as an independent before the NEC adds men's volleyball as a sponsored varsity sport in the 2022-23 season. The schedule is highlighted by meetings with four soon-to-be NEC foes in LIU, St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, and Saint Francis U (Pa.), and a postseason tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"I feel that in our inaugural season, the Knights fanbase will see a new sport on campus that will be exciting," said France, addressing the upcoming season.
FDU's inaugural campaign kicks off at the Harvard Invitational on January 21 and 22, where they will square off against Queens University and King University in Cambridge.
The Knights will host their first home game on January 25 when they welcome LIU into the Rothman Center in a precursor to what fans may expect in NEC play next season.
The Burgundy and Blue open February with three quickfire matches, visiting Sacred Heart on February 2, heading to Newark to take on NJIT on February 4, and then welcoming the Highlanders to Rothman Center on February 5.
The Knights will then host three more consecutive home matches as St. Francis Brooklyn makes the short drive to the banks of the Hackensack on February 15. Visiting D'Youville College from Buffalo, NY will make their first appearance in the Rothman Center on back-to-back days, February 19 and 20.
France made note of some specific teams and match-ups to look out for on the schedule, saying, "The schedule will feature two programs that were ranked in the final NVA/AVCA 2021 Men's Volleyball poll in NJIT and George Mason University. The schedule is challenging as we play 5 EIVA squads including Princeton, the EIVA Champion in 2019."
That meeting with George Mason, the 2021 EIVA Runners-Up, is set to go down on February 25 followed by a visit to Alderson Broaddus for matches on February 26 and 27, and then a visit to American International College on March 4.
FDU returns home to take on Edward Waters College on March 9, before setting back out for four more away days in a row. The Knights will visit Saint Francis U on March 11, D'Youville on March 25, Daemon College on March 26, and St. Francis Brooklyn on March 29.
To kick off April, FDU will enjoy some home cooking as they welcome in American International on April 1, the aforementioned Princeton on April 2, and George Mason on April 9, before wrapping up regular season play on April 9 at LIU.
To close out the season, the Knights will participate in the postseason IVA Tournament in Charlotte on April 22 and 23.
France would add about the composition of his team, "We have some good young men who have proven to be great Knights. They will represent FDU very well as we begin this our inaugural season."
Connect with FDU men's volleyball on Twitter and Instagram, @FDUKnightsMVB.
