BUIES CREEK, N.C.-Trips to the North Carolina State and Virginia Tournaments, plus 12 home dates and multiple quality non-conference contests highlight the 2009 Campbell volleyball schedule.

The Camels will begin the season in Raleigh, N.C. inside historic Reynolds Coliseum with the NC State Tournament on Friday, Aug. 28. The first of two tournaments hosted by the Wolfpack, the season opener will feature Davidson, Morgan State and Charleston Southern in addition to NC State and the Camels.

The last time the Camels and the Wolfpack squared off was two seasons ago in Durham, N.C. at the North Carolina Central Invitational, where NC State handed CU its only loss. Campbell and NCSU came away with 3-1 records, but the Wolfpack took the tourney title with the tie-breaker.

Three days after their home opener against High Point on Sept. 1, the Camels will head to the Virginia Tournament, meeting the Cavaliers, as well as North Carolina Central and Virginia Commonwealth.

"We are excited about making the trip to the NC State and Virginia Tournaments where we will see a couple of ACC teams," said head coach Leigh Mullins. "The Virginia Tournament should be an especially good early test for us, taking on Virginia and VCU, two quality teams."

Virginia, bringing in the nation's No. 15 recruiting class, will be the second ACC team the Camels see in 2009. The match will mark the first time a CU team has played multiple ACC teams in a single season since 2003, when the Camels played Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Wake Forest. CU also battled against Pac-10 member Oregon State at the Charlotte Invitational that season.

VCU, a perennial contender in the Colonial Athletic Association, will also bring a tough test for the Camels in Charlottesville. The Rams have not seen Campbell since 2005, taking a 3-1 win over CU in Carter Gym.

Campbell and NCCU have become quite acquainted over the past three seasons, matching up at least once every year, and holding a 4-1 record against the Eagles. Last season, Mullins and the Camels made their home debut with NC Central with a 3-0 victory. That match turned out to be the last collegiate contest played inside Carter Gym before the squad moved into the new John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center.

The Camels open their first full season inside the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center with Big South Championship contender High Point, who finished in a knot with Liberty and Coastal Carolina for the regular season title a year ago.

The match will be the first of 12 for CU, the most home dates since 1998. Campbell has only topped that number once, hosting 15 matches in 1997, a home schedule that included the Campbell Classic.

In-state rival East Carolina also comes to Buies Creek on Sept. 22. The Camels and the Pirates have met every year since Campbell's volleyball program was conceived in 1986, meeting 36 times over that 23 year span. Campbell last defeated the Pirates in 2004 in Greenville.

"High Point and East Carolina will bring strong teams to Buies Creek early on, highlighting the non-conference portion of our first full season inside the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center," said Mullins.

Campbell will open its 20 match Atlantic Sun schedule in Buies Creek for the first time since 2006, welcoming the 2007 and 2008 league regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 11. A day later, the Camels will pair with Stetson, a team CU downed twice in 2008.

After trips to Mercer, Kennesaw State, USC Upstate and East Tennessee State, nearly three weeks away from home, Belmont and Lipscomb will come to town to kick off October.

"We will also have early conference tests, starting with Florida Gulf Coast, the A-Sun's back-to-back regular season champions, followed by Belmont and Lipscomb at home, the conference's last two NCAA representatives," added Mullins.

CU will travel to each A-Sun member through the season, and each team will return the favor, finishing with Belmont and Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 14.

The A-Sun Tournament will begin on Thursday, Nov. 19, finishing up on the following Saturday.