CLINTON, Miss. --- With the start of the 2024 campaign 44 days away, Mississippi College first-year, head volleyball coach Bentley Odom announced the Choctaw volleyball, 28-match schedule.
 
Five opponents on the docket saw action in the 2023 NCAA postseason with two conference champions.
 
"We have a competitive schedule ahead for the 2024 season and I'm excited to get our team up against some stellar opponents from the Great American, Great Lakes Valley and Peach Belt Conferences before we start our conference play," said Odom. "We'll have a packed home schedule throughout the month of October, so I can't wait to see our fans in the Coliseum throughout that stretch. I am looking forward to guiding this team back to our fifth consecutive berth to the Gulf South Conference Championships and into further postseason play."
 
The Blue and Gold have 20 GSC match-ups scheduled, playing each conference member in both home and away games. It is the first time for the home-and-home series in league play since 2017.
 
The home schedule kicks off on Oct. 4 with a game against Lee University, followed by a first-ever meeting with new conference member Trevecca Nazarene University on Oct. 5. The two contests are part of eight home outings during the month.
 
MC opens the season with 11 consecutive affairs away from A.E. Wood Coliseum. The Choctaw travel to the Natural State for the Reddie-Tiger Invitational in Arkadelphia, Ark., co-hosted by Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. The squad readies for four matches over the two days, including outings against the two hosts.
 
For the second straight season, the Blue and Gold will participate in the PBC-GSC Crossover with this year's event at the University of Montevallo. The two-day Crossover pits three teams from the GSC against three members from the neighboring, Peach Belt.
 
The Choctaw open conference action on Sept. 24 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville – the first conference lid-lifter between the two schools. It is the first time the program has opened conference play on the road since 2021. The contest in the Rocket City is the first of four consecutive road contests for the team to open the season, including matches at the University of West Alabama (Sept. 27), Auburn University at Montgomery (Sept. 28) and Montevallo (Oct. 1).

The eight-team, GSC Championship format returns for the fourth straight year. The opening round is Nov. 19 on campus sites with the final six teams meeting at the top seed for the final three rounds, culminating with the championship game on Nov. 24. NCAA postseason begins Dec. 5 with regional play. NCAA Elite 8 action set for Dec. 12-14 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
Mississippi College begins fall camp on Aug. 14.
 

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Schedule Notes

• First season under head coach Bentley Odom. Odom served as an assistant coach at West Texas A&M University during the 2023 season. During the 2023 campaign, she helped guide the Lady Buff Volleyball program to the NCAA Division II National Runner-Up title
• Four, first-time match-ups are on the slate this season. Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Sept. 6), McKendree University (Sept. 7), Lander University (Sept. 20) and Trevecca Nazarene University (Oct. 5).
• Gulf South Conference home-and-home series for the first time since 2017 for the 11-member, volleyball league.
• Programs from the Great American Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference comprise the 2024 slate.
• 2023 NCAA Tournament Participants – University of West Florida, Spring Hill College, Augusta University, Lander University and University of South Carolina-Aiken
• 2023 Conference Champions - University of West Florida and Spring Hill College