PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's volleyball team will participate in four preseason events, including the first-ever volleyball match at PPG Paints Arena, as part of the 2019 schedule released today.

The Dukes, who are in their 22nd season under head coach Steve Opperman, open the season on Aug. 30 vs. Charleston Southern as part of the two-day UNC Wilmington Tournament. DU will also face North Florida and host UNCW while in North Carolina.

DU returns home to take on Green Bay in the first volleyball match at PPG Paints Arena in day one of the ChampYinz Volleyball Invitational co-hosted by Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, September 6. The Duquesne/Green Bay match, set for a 5:30 p.m. start, will be followed by Pitt vs. Ohio State at 8:00 p.m.

Day one of the event serves as a precursor to the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship which will be hosted by Duquesne University, SportsPITTSBURGH and PPG Paints Arena Dec. 19 & 21.

The Dukes will face both Ohio State and Pitt on Sept. 7 at Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House to conclude the two-day invitational.
    
Duquesne will play at Robert Morris on Sept. 10, before heading to Philadelphia for the Valley Forge Sports Invitational, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at the Palestra on Sept. 13-14. DU will face Chicago State and Penn on Friday and St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.

DU completes the nonconference portion of the schedule with an appearance in the Mountaineer Invitational where the Dukes will play host West Virginia, Navy and Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 20 & 21 in Morgantown, W.Va.

DU opens Atlantic 10 play on Sept. 27 at Davidson, followed by a match at VCU on Sept. 29.

Duquesne's first true home matches of the season will be on Oct. 4 & 6 versus George Washington and George Mason at Mt. Lebanon High School.

The Dukes will play their seven 2019 home matches at Mt. Lebanon due to renovation work currently underway on the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

DU will also face La Salle (Oct. 11), George Mason (Oct. 18), George Washington (Oct. 19), Fordham (Nov. 1) and Rhode Island (Nov. 2) on the road, with VCU (Oct. 25), Davidson (Oct. 27), Saint Louis (Nov. 8), Dayton (Nov. 9) and La Salle (Nov. 16) all making the trip to Pittsburgh.

The top six regular-season finishers will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championship at the University of Rhode Island on Nov. 22-24.
    
2019 SCHEDULE QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne will play seven home matches at Mt. Lebanon High School due to renovation work underway at the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. DU's first "home" match at MTL is Oct. 4 vs. George Washington. Admission to all matches at Mt. Lebanon is free.
• DU will face opponents representing 12 different conferences in non-league play, including Power 5 foes Ohio State (Big Ten), Pitt (Atlantic Coast) and West Virginia (Big 12).
• Duquesne will face five first-time opponents in Charleston Southern, Green Bay, North Florida, St. Francis Brooklyn and UNC Wilmington.
• The 10-team Atlantic 10 will maintain an 14-match schedule. The top six teams will qualify for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship at the University of Rhode Island November 22-24.