Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team will play 30 regular-season matches and compete in four regular-season tournaments against top-flight opponents under fourth-year head coach Dale Starr.

“I think it will be a great challenge for us early in the season.  We have several top-100 teams on the schedule, with some top-50 teams mixed in there as well,” said Starr.  “We play Big 10 member Indiana, SEC member South Carolina, as well as strong teams like Xavier, Central Michigan, Duquesne and Akron.  We will be challenged early on, but it will prepare us to make a run at an NEC Championship.”

RMU will compete in the Indiana Invitational, Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational, Wright State Invitational and the Carolina Classic in four consecutive weekends to open up the season. These tournaments will bring first-time matchups with South Carolina, Presbyterian, and Rutgers.

The Colonials open up their season at the Indiana Invitational on Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31. RMU will open up the tournament with a match against Indiana on Friday before playing two matches against Kent State and Rutgers on Saturday. 

RMU returns home the following weekend to serve as a co-host for the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7. RMU opens up the tournament on Friday with a match against Xavier, who finished last season ranked just outside the top-50 in the nation. The Colonials then take on Central Michigan and cross-city rival, Duquesne on Saturday.

Robert Morris will then host a single match against Akron on Sept. 10 before traveling to Dayton for the Wright State Invitational on Sept. 13 and Sept. 14. The Colonials will take on Wright State to open up the tournament on Friday before playing two matches on Saturday; one against Indiana State followed by a match against Murray State to close out the tournament.

The Colonials finish up their early-season tournament schedule with a trip to Columbia, S.C. to take part in the Carolina Classic on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday Sept. 21. Robert Morris will play their first ever matches against South Carolina and Presbyterian and only their second matchup against Western Carolina. RMU will then take on Youngstown State on Sept. 24 in a weekday matchup prior to the start of Northeast Conference action.

RMU opens up their 14-game Northeast Conference play by traveling to Teaneck, N.J. for a matchup against Farleigh Dickinson on Sept. 28 before concluding the trip with a match against Sacred Heart the following day. The Colonials return home the following weekend for matches against Saint Francis (N.Y.) on Oct. 5 and last year's NEC Champions, LIU-Brooklyn, on Oct. 6.

The Colonials will then embark on a five-match road trip beginning their first ever matchup against UMass-Lowell on Oct. 10. RMU then returns to NEC play as it looks for revenge against Central Connecticut State on Oct. 12 after the Blue Devils ended the Colonials' 2012 season in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament. The Colonials close out the weekend against Bryant on Sunday, Oct. 13.

RMU will take their final step out of non-conference play with a weekday trip to take on West Virginia on Oct. 16. The Colonials defeated the Mountaineers last year in a five-set thriller for their first win against a Big-XII opponent. The Colonials round out their road trip with a single NEC match against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Oct. 19.

The Colonials will begin the second round of matches against NEC foes when they host a weekend series against Bryant on Oct. 26 and Central Connecticut State on Oct. 27. St. Francis (Pa.) comes to town on Nov. 2 before the Colonials embark on their final road trip of the season to face St. Francis (N.Y.) and LIU-Brooklyn on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, respectively. RMU returns home the following weekend to wrap up their regular-season with matches against Sacred Heart on Saturday, Nov. 16 and Farleigh Dickinson on Sunday, Nov. 17.

The NEC Tournament, which is hosted by the league's regular-season champion, will feature the top four teams in the conference and be held Saturday, Nov. 23, and Sunday, Nov. 24. Robert Morris qualified for its 14th-consecutive NEC Tournament in 2012, extending the league's longest active streak, as the Colonials have now posted a winning NEC mark in 14 straight seasons, a conference record for any member past or present. The Colonials look to build upon their recent NEC success and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.