The volleyball team heads south this weekend to participate in the Patriot League Invitational. They will play three matches in Fairfax, Va. against George Mason, Radford, and Coppin State.

“I think it’s a great tournament because Radford is playing really well this season,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “They are 3-1 after beating Cal St. Fullerton last night, George Mason is 0-3 but every match they have had has been really tight, they easily could be 3 and 0. Those will definitely be the toughest of the three teams we play. Coppin State I think is personally a little weaker then George Mason but you never know in a tournament setting.”

The team will look to improve on last weekend’s performance as the team went 1-1 in the Buffalo Invitational.

“I think this is a really good test for us as we progress forward with this team in this young season,” Ganes said. “We are really looking forward to play in this tournament. I thought we were a little inconsistent last weekend, but we kind of expected that, it is always tough coming out of preseason and jumping right into game action especially with eight new players, but hopefully we will be a little bit more stable this week.”

This weekend also marks the homecoming for Tiffany Connatster, the native of Fairfax lives only five minutes away from where the Owls will be playing.

“I think it is going to be really fun, it’s going to be nice to have my family, coach, and old friends there cheering me on,” Connatster said. “They don’t have to drive three hours to come see me play, I am really looking forward to returning home to play.”

Another storyline is Emily Carlin plays her former team, Radford University, in the second game of the tournament. Carlin played three seasons there and just transferred to Temple this year.

“I am filled with excitement, it is fueling the fire for me this weekend,” Carlin said. “I am ready to go out there and play with this team and win.”

The Owls take on Radford in the first game at 5 p.m. Friday.