SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Cal State San Marcos head volleyball coach Andrea Leonard announced the Cougars' 2017 schedule on Tuesday.  For the second consecutive season, the Cougars will kick off its season by hosting the Cougar Classic on Labor Day weekend.
 
"Our tournament is becoming increasingly competitive, attracting programs from across the country as a destination tournament," Leonard said. "It is a nice compliment to what we have to offer as well as being home for opening weekend, so our student-athletes get acclimated to the first week of classes."
 
CSUSM opens the Cougar Classic on Friday, Sept. 1 against Adelphi (N.Y.) at 2 p.m. and St. Cloud State (Minn.) at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 2, the Cougars face Fresno Pacific at noon before closing out the tournament against Saint Martin's (Wash.) at 6 p.m.  
 
The Cougars trek north to Oregon for the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase to take on host Western Oregon, Chaminade (Hawaii), Seattle Pacific and once again, Fresno Pacific on Sept. 7-9.
 
"After last year's success at the crossover tourney, which enabled us to move up in the rankings, I see us being challenged right away," Leonard said. "Every team is approaching this tourney like they would a conference championship in that the outcomes will help determine placement in the first NCAA West Region poll."
 

Season tickets for the general public will go on sale on Aug. 1 and can be obtained by contacting Fernando Brown via email at fbrown@csusm.edu. Season tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Single game tickets will go on sale on Aug. 15.

After becoming full-fledged members of the NCAA Division II this past summer, the Cougars will look to qualify for their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Volleyball Tournament in addition to competing for the program's first league title.
 
The Cougars begin CCAA play with a bang, facing 2016 conference tournament qualifiers in their first six matches of the season. CSUSM will make the short trip to UC San Diego on Sept. 16 before hosting NCAA West Region participant and CCAA Tournament runner-up Chico State (Sept. 22) and Stanislaus State (Sept. 23) the next weekend. The Cougars close out September at Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 29) and 2016 CCAA Tournament champion Cal State San Bernardino (Sept. 30).
 
"The CCAA offers a very tough conference schedule and the only way to prepare for that is to play at the highest level and challenge ourselves every day with excellence," Leonard said. "That is why we scheduled a tough Cougar Classic for our opening weekend and of course, the crossover tourney is like a championship tourney in itself. We also must train in practices to execute our systems and pay attention to details. Every student-athlete has a role, preparing each other for their roles, getting them to buy into that philosophy and bringing a competitive attitude to practice every day is important."
 
#DigPink night is slated for Oct. 14 when the Cougars host Cal Poly Pomona.  
 
The Cougars host their final home game on Nov. 4, welcoming cross-town rival UC San Diego to The Sports Center. The regular season for CSUSM wraps up on the road at Cal State L.A. (Nov. 10.) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (Nov. 11).
 
"Our goals this season are to continue to improve," said Leonard. "We are building a program here and it is important for us to continue to improve in all facets of the game.  We still have a young team with only one senior, so for us, it is about finishing the season better than we did the last year.  We will set our goals as a team on our first day of practice, but until then our focus will be to prepare and improve."