LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – For the first time since 2019, the Lock Haven University volleyball team is getting set to hit the court this weekend. On Friday and Saturday (Sept. 3-4), the Bald Eagles will host a five-team, 10-game tournament in Thomas Fieldhouse. The Haven will feature in four of those matches.
 
On Friday, The Haven will battle Malone at 1 p.m. before finishing off the day in the 7 p.m. nightcap against Roberts Wesleyan. Then on Saturday, LHU will match up with Notre Dame (Ohio) at 3 p.m. and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West member Slippery Rock at 7 p.m.
 
The Bald Eagles then travel to back-to-back invitational tournaments at Clarion and Frostburg State before opening the PSAC schedule against Bloomsburg on Friday, September 24. The ever-challenging conference schedule includes a three-game homestand from October 15-22 in which LHU hosts East division-favorite Shepherd along with Shippensburg and Bloomsburg. LHU will cap the 2021 regular season on "Senior Night" when the Bald Eagles play host to East Stroudsburg.
 
The 2021 season will mark head coach Eric Buggs second season at the helm following his hiring in June 2019.
 
After the 2020 season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Buggs welcomes two classes of talented Bald Eagles eager to make their first impact on the court. The 2021 class features eight incoming freshmen and one junior-transfer. The 2020 class features two new student-athletes, all of whom look set to make an instant impact for LHU.
 
While the 2021 team will feature many new faces, the Bald Eagles do return some prominent players from the 2019 season who will look to guide The Haven through its return to play. Senior defensive specialist Madison Goodwin is the leading Bald Eagle returner in digs with 232 and was a constant figure for The Haven as she played in all 96 sets in 2019. Senior outside hitter Krystal Heffelfinger also returns for LHU and her 90 kills in 2019 mark the highest among returning Lock Haven players.

Under coach Buggs, the Bald Eagles will hope to replicate their early season tournament success from 2019 and jumpstart a successful PSAC season as they look for a return to the conference tournament for the first time since 2015.