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A seven-match homestand to close out the season and four road matches against teams from the Conference Carolinas highlights the 2012 Quincy regular season schedule that the team released Thursday.
Quincy ended last season in sixth place in the MIVA and reached the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in program history. The Hawks have four starters returning for the upcoming season, including outside attacker Joseph Sokol who led the team in kills last year.
Check out the five things to know about Quincy’s schedule for the upcoming season.
Five things to know about the schedule
1. More beef to non-conference
After playing one non-conference match against a Division I-II team last year, Quincy will increase its non-conference strength of schedule for the upcoming season. Quincy will play five non-conference matches against Division I-II teams, including four matches against Conference Carolinas teams. It will also play NJIT on March 16 — the first time Quincy will play a team from the EIVA since 2009. Along with these matches, the Hawks will play 13 non-conference matches against Division III or NAIA teams, an eight match decrease from the previous season. This is the fewest amount of Division III and NAIA opponents that Quincy will play in a single season during the last five years. Quincy was 18-4 in non-conference play last season as the team reached its first 20-win season in program history.
2. The Ball State rematch
The Hawks will open the conference season at the site where they pulled off the biggest upset in MIVA Tournament history. Quincy will play Ball State on Feb. 11 in Munice, Ind., less than 10 months after the No. 6 seed Hawks upset the No. 3 seed Cardinals in the conference tournament quarterfinals. The Hawks’ victory was the first time in conference history that a No. 6 seed won a match in the MIVA Tournament. In addition, it was the first time Ball State failed to advance to the MIVA Tournament semifinals since 1988. Ball State prior to that postseason match was 36-3 all-time against Quincy, including two victories during the 2011 regular season.
3. Carolinas road trip
For the third time in Hadley Foster’s seven years as the team’s head coach, Quincy will play a road match against a Conference Carolinas school. Quincy will play the defending Conference Carolinas champion Mount Olive, King and Barton as part of a four-match road trip in mid-March. The Hawks last traveled to a Conference Carolinas school in 2010 when it swept both Pfeiffer and Limestone. In addition to these road matches, Quincy will play a home match against Mount Olive on Feb. 25 — its only home non-conference match against a Division I-II team.
4. Ending at home
The Hawks will not have to leave their homecourt for the final four weeks of the regular season. Quincy will close out the regular season with a seven-match homestand, including a two-match series against the defending NCAA champions Ohio State on March 23-24. The homestand will also feature a two-match series against IPFW and matches against Lewis and Ball State. Quincy has a combined 4-10 home conference record during the two seasons, but pulled off regular season upsets at home against Ball State in 2010 and Loyola last season.
5. Late start to season
Quincy will have to wait longer than most teams to start its season. Quincy will not play its season-opener against Hannibal LaGrange until Jan. 24 — the fourth week of the regular season. This is the latest start date to a season of the 12 EIVA, MIVA and MPSF teams that have already released their 2012 regular seaosn schedules. The Hawks in recent years have not started their season until the second or third week of the regular season. However, this will be the latest start to Quincy’s regular season in more than five years.
Quincy regular season schedule
7 p.m. Jan. 24 vs. Hannibal LaGrange
7 p.m. Jan. 27 at Lindenwood
Noon Jan. 28 at Fontebonne
2 p.m. Jan. 28 at Fontebonne
7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Milwaukee School of Engineering
7 p.m. Feb. 3 at Carthage
6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Ball State*
6 p.m. Feb. 13 vs. Fontebonne
8 p.m. Feb. 13 vs. Fontebonne
7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Grand Canyon*
5 p.m. Feb. 19 at Grand Canyon*
7 p.m. Feb. 25 vs. Mount Olive
11 a.m. Feb. 26 vs. Rust college
1 p.m. Feb. 26 vs. Rust College
7 p.m. March 1 at Lewis*
7 p.m. March 2 at Loyola*
4 p.m. March 3 at Loyola*
1 p.m. March 4 vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering
7 p.m. March 9 vs. Carthage
8 p.m. March 13 at Mount Olive
8 p.m. March 14 vs. Barton (at Mount Olive, N.C.)
7 p.m. March 16 vs. NJIT (at Bristol, Tenn.)
7 p.m. March 17 at King
7 p.m. March 23 vs. Ohio State*
7 p.m. March 24 vs. Ohio State*
7 p.m. March 30 vs. IPFW*
7 p.m. March 31 vs. IPFW*
7 p.m. April 3 vs. Lewis*
7 p.m. April 13 vs. Ball State*
4 p.m. April 15 vs. Lindenwood
*Denotes MIVA match
All times CST