LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Volleyball Head Coach Vilis Ozols has released his program's schedule. The Saints' 29-match regular season schedule features 13 home contests at the UHY Center, highlighted by The Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Siena Invitational Sept. 10-11.
 
"We are very excited for this year's schedule and what it represents in some version of a return to normal after last year's COVID impacted schedule," said Ozols, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the Saints.
 
Siena commences its 48^th varsity season with a trio of tournaments to account for the squad's first nine matches. The Saints begin play with their first trip west of the Mississippi in eight years, when they open at the UniWyo Invite hosted by the University of Wyoming, where Ozols served as an assistant coach from 2011-12. First serve of the traditional 2021 fall season comes against Saint Mary's on Friday, Aug. 27 at 12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. MT). Siena will also face the host Cowgirls (Aug. 27 – 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT) and Belmont (Aug. 28 – 12 p.m. ET/10 a.m. MT) during their opening weekend out west.
 
"Having coached (at Wyoming), I know it's a tough place to play with the quality of their program and the added challenge of playing at altitude," noted Ozols.
 
The Saints return east to open the month of September with the Holly Young Invitational hosted by the University of New Hampshire. Siena is set to face Providence and the host Wildcats on the first day (Sept. 3), before concluding vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (Sept. 4).
 
The Saints commence their home slate by hosting the program's first regular season tournament in 29 years. The Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Siena Invitational features six matches spanning two days at the UHY Center between Siena, Central Connecticut, Delaware State, and Saint Francis (PA). The Saints are set to host the Red Flash and Hornets for their home opener on Friday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Siena finishes tournament action on Sept. 11 vs. the Blue Devils at 1 p.m.
 
"We are very excited to host our first home tournament in years as we welcome Central Connecticut, Delaware State, and Saint Francis (PA) for The Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Siena Invitational," explained Ozols.
 
The Saints wrap up their first of a pair of season long four-match homestands when they welcome Binghamton to the UHY Center on Sept. 15. Siena's 13 overall regular season home matches this fall marks the program's most since also hosting 13 during the 1997 season. The Saints are scheduled to play 11 non-conference matches in all, wrapping up play at crosstown rival UAlbany on Sept. 22.
 
First serve of conference competition commences with the annual Western New York trip to Canisius and Niagara on Sept. 19 and 20, respectively. Additional highlights to Siena's MAAC slate include another four-match homestand Oct. 6-13 vs. Quinnipiac, Canisius, Niagara, and Fairfield, a showdown against defending MAAC Tournament Champion Rider on Oct. 31 at the UHY Center, and the regular season finale vs. I-87 rival Marist for Senior Day on Nov. 13 in Loudonville.
 
"The conference season will showcase a lot of parity in our league, and we're excited to test ourselves against the MAAC," added Ozols. "That will prepare us for the other key highlight of the season where we will be hosting the MAAC Championships here at Siena. We are anxious to prove that we can be a force in the conference at that time of the season."
 
For a MAAC record 14^th time – and the first time since 2015 – Siena will host the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Volleyball Championships. This year's eight-team field will battle for the league title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Nov. 19-21 at the UHY Center.
 
Siena is looking to build off an encouraging spring season which concluded with a MAAC Semifinals berth.