Charleston, S.C. – The Citadel volleyball team opens its regular season with a trio of matches against South Florida, Ball State and Austin Peay at the South Florida Tournament beginning Friday evening.

The 16th installment of Citadel volleyball, led by head coach Amir Khaledi, will have the luxury of seven returning letterwinners who are familiar with his offensive and defensive styles.

The Bulldogs begin with South Florida on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a pair of Saturday matches against Ball State (11:30 a.m.) and Austin Peay (4:30 p.m.).

"We are excited to start the season after going through our preseason for last three weeks," said Khaledi. "Our training was tough but very productive and I have good feeling about our physical and mental state right now. The competition at South Florida will be very tough and at a high level, but we have been working hard for this kind of competition in our conditioning drills and practice."

The tournament host Bulls finished 17-15 last season and advanced to the second round of the Big East Tournament before losing to Marquette. South Florida fields a very young team under second-year coach Courtney Draper, who has six true freshmen on her roster. The Bulls have won both previous meetings against The Citadel in the 2003 and 2007 seasons.

Ball State completed the 2012 season with a 14-17 record and is looking for offensive strikes following the departure of Kara Bates and Lisa Scott, the top kill leaders for the Cardinals. Coach Steve Shondell will have the luxury of six seniors as Ball State heads into its second all-time meeting with the Bulldogs having won in 2010.

Austin Peay, who capped off the 2012 campaign with a 17-16 record, has a well-balanced lineup that features six upperclassmen. Under second-year coach Taylor Mott, the Lady Governors have won nine of their last 14 matches dating back to October of last season, including a stretch of four straight in early November. The meeting between the Cadets and Lady Governors marks the first in program history.