BUIES CREEK, N.C.-The first Atlantic Sun Conference member to officially begin the 2009 volleyball season, Campbell will square off against Davidson at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 28 as part of the NC State Hilton RTP Classic inside historic Reynolds Coliseum.

"We're looking forward to beginning the new season," said Campbell head coach Leigh Mullins. "If we play to our potential and with confidence we should do well this weekend."

Belmont and North Florida will follow the Camels, entering their first competition of the new year one hour later against Wichita State and Florida Athletic, respectively.

Also competing in the tourney will be Charleston Southern and Morgan State in addition to the Camels, Davidson and NC State. After the 10 a.m. match with the Wildcats, CU will conclude the day with Morgan State at 5 p.m. Saturday's action will include a noon contest with the host Wolfpack and a 5 p.m. tilt with Charleston Southern. Campbell is 6-17 all-time in season openers.

"There are some really good teams in this tournament," added Mullins. "This could really be a measuring stick for us starting the year. The early part of the season is all about learning. We've worked extremely hard for three weeks, and now we're going to see how it has paid off."

When the Camels line up with Davidson on Friday, it will be the first time the teams have done so in 13 years, with CU last facing the Wildcats in 1996 inside Carter Gym in Buies Creek. That match resulted in a 3-1 Camels win, their fourth in 16 tries against the Wildcats.

Davidson went 12-20 last season under head coach Tim Cowie, who enters his eighth season with the Wildcats. The junior duo of outside hitter Sarabeth Peele and setter Hayley Lawson, who averaged 3.33 kills and 9.02 assists per set, respectively, lead a group of five starters and 10 total letterwinners returning.

Morgan State will be facing the Camels for only the second time in program history, last meeting in the 1991 Loyola Invitational, with Campbell taking a win in the five-set showdown. Last Fall, Morgan State finished the season 3-25 overall and 2-8 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Division, missing the league's postseason tournament for the first time in school history. The Camels are 39-5 all-time against MEAC opponents.

Saturday, the Camels begin by taking on NC State at noon on its home floor. 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 of that tournament. Campbell and NCSU came away with 3-1 records on the weekend, but the Wolfpack took the tourney title with the head-to-head tie-breaker.

Campbell is 2-24 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference foes, with both wins coming against NC State in 10 games. In fact, both wins have come in Raleigh, where CU is 2-4 all-time.

The last team the Camels will face will be a future conference opponent, in Charleston Southern. Campbell will make the transition to the Big South in 2011. CU is 6-15 all-time against the Buccaneers, who return all starters from last season's 16-18 squad.

Last season, Campbell managed to qualify for postseason play for the first time since 2001, making the trip to Macon, Ga. for the Atlantic Sun Tournament. The Camels more than doubled their conference win total from 2007 as well, putting together a sweep of a league opponent for the fist time in eight years, downing Stetson by a combined score of 6-1 between the two matches.

The team also managed to win their opening home match for only the second time in seven years, and were able to begin the conference season with a win for the third time in that same span.

After the weekend tournament, the Camels will make their home debut on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. inside the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center against High Point, last year's Big South regular season co-champions.