The Eagles’ schedule is a gauntlet this year as they look to defend their title and face bigger out-of-state challenges. They open the season on Aug. 30 with a three-game matchup against Augsburg and UW-Whitewater, the latter of which was ranked No. 10 in the final 2023 AVCA poll. UW-Platteville, which received votes in the final AVCA poll, visits the Edgedome for Edgewood College’s home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 3. They will travel to California on Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7 for four games against unfamiliar opponents, including a battle with La Verne, which was ranked No. 15 in the final AVCA poll last season.

After kicking off their NACC title defense at Alverno on Thursday, Sept. 19, they will face two opponents ranked No. 18 last season on Saturday, Sept. 21: No. 18 Calvin and No. 5 UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Eagles will play two crucial conference games on the road in a row: They will face Concordia Wisconsin in a rematch of the NACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 12 before traveling to Aurora on Thursday, Oct. 17 to face their opponent in the 2023 NACC Tournament finals. UW-Stevens Point, ranked No. 23 in the final 2023 AVCA poll, will visit the Edgedome on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

“Our schedule this year is arguably the toughest we’ve put together in my 19 years at Edgewood College. The NACC gets more challenging every year. We have a challenging trip planned to Southern California and we’ll be playing some of the toughest teams in the Upper Midwest. We’ll definitely be tested, but I think we’re ready to show what we can do,” Schlomer said.