Valparaiso University volleyball head coach Carin Avery announced today her program’s schedule for the upcoming 2016 campaign. The Crusaders graduate just one senior from last season’s 27-win squad, which tied for the second-most wins in a single year in program history.

The non-league schedule is highlighted by the return of the Popcorn Classic to the ARC on Sept. 9-10. The two-day, eight-match tournament brings SE Missouri State, Central Michigan, South Dakota State and Duquesne to town to take on the Crusaders on the weekend of the city’s annual Popcorn Fest. This marks the ninth time during Avery’s tenure at Valpo that the Crusaders have hosted an in-season tournament, and Valpo has dominated the eight previous tournaments, winning five times and posting an overall record of 24-3.

The Crusaders’ season opens Aug. 26-27 in West Point, N.Y. at the Black Knights Invitational, where Valpo will face CSU Bakersfield and Hofstra in addition to host Army West Point. Both Hofstra and Army won 21 matches a season ago. The next weekend sees Valpo trek south to Troy, Ala. for the Trojan Invitational Sept. 2-3, as the Crusaders take on reigning WAC champion New Mexico State and Austin Peay, as well as Troy.

Valpo’s final in-season tournament is Sept. 16-17 at the Ball State Invitational, where in addition to the host Cardinals, the Crusaders match up with Ohio State – which finished last season ranked #13 nationally – and UNC Greensboro – which won 22 matches in 2015. Other non-league matches over the course of the season include trips to Bowling Green (Sept. 13), Western Illinois (Oct. 4), Chicago State (Oct. 18) and IPFW (Oct. 25).

The Horizon League slate opens for the Crusaders at Green Bay on Sept. 23, while Valpo’s league home opener comes one week later – Sept. 30 – versus Youngstown State. The double round-robin slate consists of 16 matches – home and away – against each of the other eight league opponents. The Crusaders’ regular season finale at home is Nov. 9 against Oakland, while the regular season concludes for Valpo at Milwaukee on Nov. 12. The Horizon League Championship will be contested Nov. 18-20 at the home of the regular season champion, with the tournament champion earning the league’s automatic berth to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.