June 2, 2016
2016 Schedule
By Russell Dorn
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Eleven matches against 2015 NCAA Championship qualifiers – including a home showdown with intrastate rival Purdue – highlights a 32-match schedule for national championship winning University of Notre Dame head coach Jim McLaughlin in his second season under the Golden Dome in 2016.
Notre Dame will play 16 home matches – with 10 coming against Atlantic Coast Conference foes – and 16 road contests during a year that will see the Irish compete in 12 different states.
Highlighting the home schedule are the return of two home tournaments – the Golden Dome Invitational (August 26-27) and Shamrock Invitational (September 2-3) – and ACC contests against 2015 NCAA Championship participants Louisville (September 23), North Carolina (October 14), Miami (October 28) and Florida State (October 30). The Cardinals and Tar Heels both advanced to the second round of the 2015 NCAA Championship.
At the season opening Golden Dome Invitational, the Irish welcome in Seton Hall, Western Michigan and 2016 NCAA Championship qualifier Cleveland State, who gave No. 1 Southern California all it could handle in the opening round of last year’s tournament.
The Shamrock Invitational boasts three NCAA Championship qualifiers in Costal Carolina, Howard and Purdue. The Boilermakers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last year.
Other non-conference matches include tournaments at Rhode Island (September 9-10) and Michigan State (September 16-17). In Kingston, Rhode Island the Irish will meet Stony Brook, San Diego State and the host Rams in the Art Carmichael Invitational. In East Lansing, Michigan, Notre Dame will battle Maryland Eastern Shore, DePaul and the host Spartans in the Spartan Classic.
Notre Dame opens the ACC portion of its schedule at home against Louisville September 23 before hitting the road at Miami two days later (September 25). The Irish return the trip to Louisville November 9.
The Irish wrap up the regular season at home this year with contests against Boston College (November 23) and Syracuse (November 25) that bookend Thanksgiving.
There is no ACC Tournament, so postseason play would begin with the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship December 2-4. This year’s semifinals and finals are slated for December 15-17 in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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After winning the 2005 NCAA Championship at Washington as part of 13 NCAA Championship teams in 14 seasons with the Huskies, McLaughlin begins his second year at Notre Dame with 13 players from 2015 returning, an impact transfer in setter Caroline Holt and four talented freshmen that are looking to turn around a squad that finished 2015 with a 7-25 record, including a 2-18 mark in ACC play.
Season tickets for the 2016 season are expected to go on sale in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to UND.com/buytickets for more information on season tickets.
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For more information on the Irish, follow the team on Facebook (/NDVolleyball), Twitter (@NDVolleyball), Instagram (NDVBall) and Snapchat (NDVolleyball).
Irish camp information can be found at ndvbcamps.com or by emailing ndvbcamps@gmail.com.
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Russell Dorn, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2011 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame volleyball, rowing and baseball programs. A native of Greenwood, South Carolina, Dorn graduated from Furman University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in history before earning his master’s degree in sports communications from Georgia State University in 2011.
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