The University of Delaware volleyball team has announced its 2017 schedule, which will feature eight home matches.

The Blue Hens, under the direction of first-year head coach Sara Matthews, return three starters and nine letter winners from last year's team that finished 16-16 overall and 8-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association before advancing to the CAA tournament final. 

UD will open its campaign with three matches at the West Virginia Tournament, including the season opener against the host Mountaineers on Aug. 25. The following day will feature a matchup against Penn State, which advanced to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 last season and was ranked No. 10 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll.

UD then will travel to New Haven, Connecticut, for three matches at the Yale Invitational on Sept. 1-2. The Blue Hens will open the tournament against the host Bulldogs on Sept. 1, before a matchup against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent Clemson and Rhode Island the following afternoon.

The following weekend UD will remain on the road with two matches at Temple's Sonesta Hotel Philadelphia Cherry and White Challenge on Sept. 8-9. The challenge will pit the Blue Hens against two ACC foes, as UD will take on Miami (Florida) on the opening day before concluding play against Boston College.

UD will wrap up its road tournament schedule with three matches at the George Washington Invitational on Sept. 15-16.  The Blue Hens will open against the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) before playing the host Colonials later that day, followed by a matchup the next afternoon against Holy Cross.  

The Blue Hens will then play 16 consecutive Colonial Athletic Association matches, including the conference opener at William and Mary on Sept. 21. The road trip will continue with a matchup against Elon two nights later.

UD will play its home opener against Northeastern on Sept. 29, followed by a home match against Hofstra on Oct. 1. The Blue Hens will go back on the road to face the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) on Oct. 6 and the College of Charleston on Oct. 8.

UD will welcome Towson to the Bob Carpenter Center on Oct. 11, followed by a contest at James Madison on Oct. 13 in a rematch of last year's CAA title match. The Blue Hens will then return home for a Friday night matchup against William and Mary on Oct. 20 at the Carpenter Sports Building, followed by a contest against Elon on Oct. 22.

UD will head north for games against Northeastern on Oct. 27 and Hofstra on Oct. 29, before returning home for the final homestand of the season featuring matches against UNCW on Nov. 2, James Madison on Nov. 4 and Charleston on Nov. 5. The Blue Hens will play their final match of the regular season on the road at Towson on Nov. 12.

The six-team conference tournament will be held on Nov. 16-19 on the campus of James Madison.

The Blue Hens will be led by senior middle hitter Daria Robinson, who ranked second on the team with 101 blocks and fourth with 191 kills last year, when she started all but one match. Sophomore outside hitter Maria Bellinger also returns after earning CAA All-Rookie team honors a year ago when she led the team with 338 kills and 2.77 kills per set. Also back for the Blue Hens will be junior outside hitter Corey Perkins, who has totaled 85 kills and 192 digs through her first two seasons.