By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University has released its volleyball schedule for 2015, and the Bearcats will play a total of 24 matches during the regular season. The schedule features 16 matches against Northwest Conference opponents.

The Bearcats will begin the season with travel to tournaments in Texas and California over the first two weekends of action. Willamette will play four matches at the Mary Hardin-Baylor Tournament in Belton, Texas, on Sept. 4-5 and will take on four teams at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California, on Sept. 11-12.

Willamette will play East Texas Baptist University and Trinity University (Texas) on Sept. 4, before taking on Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) and Mary Hardin-Baylor University on Sept. 5. The schedule has not yet been released for the Posada Royale Invitational at California Lutheran.

The remainder of Willamette's regular season schedule will be against NWC opponents, including eight home matches at Cone Field House. The Bearcats will open the NWC schedule at home on Friday, Sept. 18, against nearby rival Linfield College at 7 p.m. (PDT). The match is part of Willamette's Reunion Weekend.

After playing at George Fox University on Sept. 19, the Bearcats will return home for four consecutive matches. The homestand begins with games against Pacific University on Sept. 25 and against University of Puget Sound on Sept. 26. The Bearcats will host Lewis & Clark College on Sept. 30 and will take on Pacific Lutheran University on Oct. 2.

The next three matches will be on the road, starting with a trip to eastern Washington to take on Whitworth University on Oct. 9 and Whitman College on Oct. 10. The Bearcats will play at Linfield on Oct. 16.

Willamette plays at home against George Fox on Saturday, Oct. 17, before taking on four teams on the road. The string of road matches includes Pacific on Oct. 23, Puget Sound on Oct. 24, Lewis & Clark on Oct. 28 and Pacific Lutheran on FOct. 30.

Cone Field House will be the site of Willamette's final two regular season games, as the Bearcats return home after playing seven of eight matches on the road. The Bearcats will host Whitworth on Nov. 6 and will battle Whitman on Nov. 7.

All of Willamette's matches in the Northwest Conference will be played at 7 p.m., except for the home match against Whitman, which will begin at 6 p.m. Nearly all of the NWc matches will be played on a Friday or a Saturday. Both mid-week matches against Lewis & Clark will take place on a Wednesday.