CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Fifteen home contests, including a home tournament, highlight the Austin Peay State University volleyball team's 2008 schedule, second-year head coach Jenny Hazelwood announced, Thursday.

Unlike the 2007 campaign, which saw them open with 16 consecutive matches away from the Dunn Center, the Lady Govs will open 2008 at home as they host the Lady Govs Volleyball Classic, August 29-30. Austin Peay will play Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tennessee-Martin in the round-robin affair. SIUE ? which is transitioning to Division I ? advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament's second round last season while compiling a 27-7 mark. TAMCC, a member of the Southland Conference, was 7-22 last season while OVC member UTM was 10-22.

“It will be great to open the season at home,” Hazelwood said. “Last season was tough with us being on the road for the first five weeks, so it will be nice to open up in front of our home crowd. There is a lot of excitement about this 2008 team and we are looking forward to building on the strong foundation we have already laid.”

After opening the season at home, the Lady Govs host Lipscomb, one of three teams on the schedule that played in the NCAA Division I tournament last season, Sept. 2.

The next two weeks will see the Lady Govs off to Kennesaw State and Tulsa for tournament action. At Kennesaw, the Lady Govs will face Butler, Loyola (Md.) as well as host Kennesaw State. The next weekend, it will be matches against Sam Houston State, Jackson State and host Tulsa ? which also advanced to the NCAA tournament. One additional opponent is yet to be determined at Tulsa.

Following their return, Austin Peay opens its 18-match Ohio Valley Conference schedule with three consecutive road matches ? including back-to-back affairs against 2007 regular-season champion Jacksonville State, Sept. 20, and runner-up Morehead State, Sept. 23.

 The home portion of the OVC slate begins with three-match homestand starting with a Sept. 26 contest against OVC tournament champion Tennessee State.

The October portion of the schedule features a four-match homestand which includes a homecoming contest against Tennessee Tech, Oct. 25. The regular season concludes with home matches against Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois, Nov. 14 and 15.

Austin Peay returns seven letterwinners from last season's squad. In addition, Hazelwood has had a busy recruiting season, adding six freshmen and two transfers to the roster and will have 15 players available for the 2008 campaign.

“We are very excited about the 2008 campaign,” said Hazelwood. “We have made some great additions to our roster, and are very happy with the way our returners have stepped up this spring. This fall should be exciting for this young squad.”

- AP -