ITHACA, N.Y.--The Bombers have announced their 2009 volleyball schedule. Ithaca, which has made 16 appearances in the NCAA playoffs, will open their season Sept. 4 at an invitational hosted by two-time national champion Juniata.
Ithaca hosts its own Bomber Invitational Sept. 11-12. Empire 8 rivals Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher will be in attendance, as will 2008 NCAA playoff-qualifier Union. Brockport, Oneonta, Widener, Baptist Bible, Geneseo and Rutgers Newark complete the 10-team field.
The Bombers also host the New York State Regional Challenge, which will be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Ithaca is schedule to four other non-conference tournament: at RIT (Sep. 18-19), at Fredonia (Oct. 2-3) and at Union (Oct. 9-10).
As had been done in each of the last two seasons, the Empire 8 schedule will be played at two "crossover" tournaments. Hartwick will host the first weekend of Empire play Sept. 25-27, with conference action set to conclude Oct. 23-25 at Nazareth.
The teams with the four best conference records will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, to be held Nov. 6-7 at the highest seed. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs.