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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Volleyball opens the 2017 regular season with four matches at the West Texas A&M Buff Classic in Canyon, Texas on Friday and Saturday Sept. 1st and 2nd
- Friday, the Dawgs open with a true road contest against host West Texas A&M at 1:00 pm and will conclude the day with another game against Texas-Permian Basin at 5:30 pm
- A day later on Saturday, the Bulldogs take on Colorado State-Pueblo at 11 am and conclude the round robin tournament against Adams State at 5:30 pm  
- SWOSU will play the first 13 matches away from Weatherford before finally playing a conference match in front of a home crowd

The Opponents
West Texas A&M (0-0)
- The Lady Buffs ended 2016 with an 18-14 overall record and a 12-8 league slate in the Lonestar Conference
- West Texas A&M finished sixth in the conference and fell in the opening round of the conference tournament to conclude their season
- The Bulldogs claimed their first ever victory over WT at the Buff Classic in 2016, taking the match 3-1  

Texas - Permian Basin (0-0)
- The Falcons ended 2016 with an 8-22 record and a 4-16 league slate in the Lonestar Conference
- UTPB finished 10th in the conference and did not qualify for postseason play
- They were 1-1 against GAC opponents, defeating Northwestern 3-0 and falling to Arkansas-Monticello 3-0 

Colorado State - Pueblo (0-0)
- The Thunderwolves ended 2016 with a 12-16 record and a 10-8 league slate in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
- CSU-P finished eighth in the conference and fell in the opening round of the conference tournament to MSU-Denver in straight sets to conclude their season
 
Adams State (0-0)
- The Grizzlies ended 2016 with a 16-12 overall record and a 11-7 league slate in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
- ASU finished seventh in the conference and fell in the opening round of the conference tournament to Colorado Mines to conclude their season
- The Bulldogs fell to Adams State in 2016 at the Buff Classic 3-1 and will look to extract revenge against the Grizzlies

The Coach
SWOSU: Josh Collins (70-89, 6th season)
- Led the Bulldogs to the best season in program history in 2015, winning 22 games and the GAC Tournament Championship
- Has coached 12 All-GAC selections, one GAC Freshman of the Year and two AVCA All-Central Region selections in four seasons
- His teams have earned two AVCA Team Academic Awards and one GAC Sportsmanship Award
- Added the duties of Director of Gameday Operations at SWOSU in the fall of 2014.
 
Preseason Poll
#. Team, Points (1st-Place Votes)
1. Harding, 113 (7)
2. Ouachita, 105 (3)
3. Arkansas Tech, 95 (2)
4. Oklahoma Baptist, 90        
5. Southern Nazarene, 77      
6. SWOSU, 74            
7. Southeastern Oklahoma State, 62
8. Arkansas-Monticello, 56    
9. Henderson State, 45          
10. Northwestern Oklahoma State, 30          
11. Southern Arkansas, 25    
12. East Central, 20
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU is coming off of a 14-17 season, finishing fifth in the conference with a 9-7 league slate
- The Dawgs took down four-seeded Arkansas Tech in the opening round of the conference tournament before being eliminated by Southeastern just one game away from reaching the championship for a second-consecutive year
- Eight players will return from the 2016 squad, but only three who saw significant court time
- Six additions were added in the offseason, three transfers and three freshmen  

Looking Ahead
- Following the Buff Classic, SWOSU will play in the LCU Chap Classic a week later in Lubbock against four more teams in two days
- From there, a road conference contest against ECU and the GAC/MIAA crossover will close out the road stretch for the Dawgs
- Tuesday, Sept. 19 marks the first home game of the season against Southern Nazarene