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Coach Rock Perrotte went a different route when it came to scheduling non-conference matches for the upcoming season.
The Mastodons unveiled on Monday its 2022 schedule that features five non-conference matches against teams Purdue Fort Wayne has never played before in its program history.
Purdue Fort Wayne in the opening month of the season will travel to play Lincoln Memorial and St. Francis Brooklyn and then in March will have a home match versus Daemen. The team also will have inaugural matches against first-year programs Maryville and Central State.
The Mastodons finished last season in sixth place in the MIVA and nearly pulled off an upset against McKendree in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Among the starters returning for Perrotte and the Mastodons includes Freshman All-American outside attacker Vicente Ibarra. The Chilean native in his first college season was in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.69 kills per game average and had at least 20 kills in five matches.
Both Lincoln Memorial and Daemen in 2021 were two of the top independent teams in the nation.
The Railsplitters ended last season at No. 10 in the Division II national coaches poll and won their third consecutive IVA Tournament championship. In addition, Daemen ended its abbreviated 2021 season at 10-0 and finished as the only undefeated team in the nation.
St. Francis Brooklyn is entering its third season after being limited to six matches in 2021.
Purdue Fort Wayne did not play any non-conference matches last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the Mastodons were 7-2 in non-conference play in 2020 at the time that season was canceled.
2022 Purdue Fort Wayne regular season schedule
Jan. 7 at King
Jan. 8 at Lincoln Memorial
Jan. 14 vs. Maryville
Jan. 20 vs. George Mason
Jan. 22 at St. Francis Brooklyn
Jan. 23 at NJIT
Jan. 28 vs. Saint Francis
Feb. 4 at Harvard
Feb. 5 at Sacred Heart
Feb. 11 vs. Lindenwood
Feb. 12 vs. Quincy
Feb. 18 at Ohio State
Feb. 24 at Lewis
Feb. 26 vs. McKendree
March 2 at Ball State
March 4 at Loyola
March 11 at Charleston
March 12 at Central State
March 17 vs. Daemen
March 19 vs. Loyola
March 24 vs. Lewis
March 26 at McKendree
March 31 at Quincy
April 2 at Lindenwood
April 7 vs. Ohio State
April 9 vs. Ball State