RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics released the complete 2026 schedule for the reigning Southland Conference (SLC) Champion Vaqueros volleyball team on Monday, which includes nine home matches. 
 
"We wanted to challenge ourselves a little bit more with this schedule. We had a really great spring and we have a lot of pieces coming back. So, our goal with this schedule was to challenge this group early on and get them to see elite competition and get a look at some different lineups to prepare us for the top half of the Southland schedule," head coach Todd Lowery said. 
 
The Vaqueros open their season Aug. 28-29 at the Country Roads Challenge hosted by the Big 12's West Virginia. They'll face West Virginia in both teams' season opener Aug. 28 before taking on UMBC on Aug. 29. UTRGV remains on the road for Week 2 as it heads to Corpus Christi for the Islanders Classic. The Vaqueros will play Texas State on Sept. 4 and UTEP on Sept. 5, facing these two squads in non-conference action for the third consecutive year as part of the rotating Southwest Showdown. 
 
The home opener at the UTRGV Fieldhouse is set for Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. against Texas Southern. 
 
"It's been so much fun to play at home. I think Thursday night has become volleyball night here in the Valley and people have really grabbed onto it and are showing up," Lowery said. "We have one of the best environments in the conference, if not the best, to play in, and I think our team really performs well at home."
 
UTRGV's next seven matches will be played away from home. The Vaqueros will head to Lubbock to play three contests in the Red Raider Classic Sept. 10-11. They'll get the tournament started with two matches Sept. 10, first against hosting Texas Tech and later against Portland State. UTRGV plays Prairie View A&M on Sept. 11. Next, the Vaqueros will head to Peoria, Illinois for the CEFCU Invitational hosted by Bradly. UTRGV plays Bradley and Lindenwood on Sept. 18 before wrapping up the non-conference slate against New Mexico State on Sept. 19. 
 
"This is probably the most competitive non-conference schedule we've had for a while. You look at two Big 12 teams in West Virgina and Texas Tech, then you look at New Mexico State, Texas State, UTEP, a whole bunch of top 50 teams on the schedule to get us ready for Southland play," Lowery said. 
 
UTRGV begins its SLC title defense Sept. 23 at McNeese. The Vaqueros have a quick turnaround from the midweek road match to a Saturday conference home opener on Sept. 26 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse against Nicholls. The Nicholls match kicks off the first of two three-match home stretches on the conference schedule. The Vaqueros will host UIW and Houston Christian University Oct. 1-3. 
 
The Vaqueros will play at Northwestern State and East Texas A&M Oct. 8-10. 
 
Oct. 15 brings a marquee match to the UTRGV Fieldhouse as the Vaqueros host Stephen F. Austin, the team they shared the regular season title with in 2025. This will be a rematch of the 2025 SLC Tournament championship match, which was won by Stephen F. Austin. Lamar comes to town on Oct. 17 as part of a weekend Lowery believes could be crucial for UTRGV's championship hopes. 
 
"Last year, the match at SFA was the different between sharing the title and winning the title outright, and that could happen again this year. Getting them at our place is an advantage for us," Lowery emphasized. "That SFA-Lamar weekend has become a really big, big weekend for us to be able to focus-in individually on both of those matches. UIW and Corpus are always good. The week of the two Corpus matches will be another big week to star on our conference schedule. The split weekend with McNeese and Nicholls is a big travel split for us and harder than we've had our first two years in the conference. 
 
"The Southland is going to be very interesting," he added. "Anybody on any given night in the Southland can knock somebody off, so we have to show up prepared every single night." 
 
UTRGV will play three consecutive road matches from Oct. 22-29, starting with contests at Southeastern and LSU New Orleans. 
 
The Vaqueros will face rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in back-to-back South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, matches. The first will be in Corpus on Oct. 29. UTRGV hosts the Islanders on Oct. 31 to begin another three-match stretch at home. The Vaqueros will face East Texas A&M and Northwestern State Oct. 5-7 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. 
 
UTRGV closes the regular season with matches at UIW and Houston Christian University Nov. 12-14. 
 
The conference tournament is scheduled for Nov. 20-22 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. 
 
Fans interested in purchasing UTRGV Volleyball tickets can fill out this form. Ticket information for the 2026-27 athletic season will be available soon. 
 
"We have a really, really exciting team to watch, and I think that's what this is all about, just watching young people enjoy what they love to do and really put on a show for the fans," Lowery said. "We have a great group of girls that take time after matches to really interact with fans and they get out in the community. I hope to see everyone at the UTRGV Fieldhouse this fall and enjoying all these exciting home matches. Come watch some good volleyball." 

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