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BLACKSBURG -- Two tournaments at Cassell Coliseum, 10 home ACC matches and a trip to the Puerto Rico Showcase highlight the Virginia Tech volleyball program’s 2016 schedule, head coach Chris Riley announced on Monday.

"Our 2016 schedule features a tremendous challenge for our team in the non-conference that will prepare us for ACC play,” said Riley, who enters his 11th season leading the program. “We have a great deal of experience on our roster so we wanted to present the opportunities to pick up some quality wins by playing great teams. We want to give ourselves the best chance to make the NCAA Tournament."

The non-conference slate features three teams that reached last season’s NCAA Tournament in Lipscomb, Ohio and Texas A&M. Tech will face the Aggies, Alabama and Temple over three days at the Puerto Rico Showcase in what will be the first time the Hokie volleyball program will play matches outside of the continental United States.

After hosting the Virginia Tech/Radford Invitational and Hokie Invitational, the Hokies will welcome 10 ACC opponents to Cassell including NCAA Tournament participants Louisville (Oct. 21) and North Carolina (Oct. 28). In-state foe Virginia travels to Blacksburg for a 7 p.m. match on Sept. 30.

Tech returns its top hitter, middle blocker and setter from last season in senior Lindsey Owens, junior Ashley Battle and sophomore Rhegan Mitchell. Seven newcomers, five freshmen and two transfers, will join a Hokies squad that went 19-13 overall and 10-10 in the ACC last season.

The full 2016 schedule can be found here.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_VBall and on Instagram @vthokievolleyball