Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Texas A&M on August 28, 2026
Volleyball
at Texas A&M
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Brayden Stenner
Schedule features national champs, Sweet 16 duo, new-look MW
4/15/2026 11:01:00 AM | Volleyball
GCU opens 2026 seasons at Texas A&M, plays 6 matches vs. 2025 NCAA qualifiers
The ascension of Grand Canyon volleyball includes its scheduling, which ambitiously will test the Lopes next fall against defending national champion Texas A&M, Sweet 16 qualifiers Kansas and Cal Poly and two more of last season's NCAA Tournament teams.
"We are super excited about our 2026 schedule, both nonconference and conference play, " Lopes third-year head coach Kendra Potts said. "We are still so grateful to be a part of the Mountain West and what it brings to be able to play high-level matches day in and day out. Our nonconference schedule is extremely competitive. Being able to open at Texas A&M against the national champion is an opportunity that we're all excited to be a part of. Also, ending nonconference play at Kansas and being able to play Kansas and Ole Miss prepares us to start as competitive as possible in the Mountain West."
GCU will open in College Station, Texas, as part of a loaded Aug. 28-29 event at Texas A&M that features a season-opening match against the championship-defending host Aggies as well as matches with Big West champion Cal Poly and Sun Belt champion Arkansas State.
The Lopes will begin its home slate with the Sept. 4-6 GCU Invitational, highlighted by the Lope-A-Palooza environment that draws the largest, most raucous crowd of the season as a welcome-back campus event for GCU students. The home opener at Global Credit Union Arena will be against Louisiana Monroe with two more weekend matches against San Francisco and Temple.
On Sept. 10, GCU will head to Flagstaff for the Lumberjack Classic against host Northern Arizona, Omaha and UC Riverside before traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to take part in the Sept. 19 Jayhawk Classic. There, the Lopes will play host Kansas, a 2025 Sweet 16 team, and Ole Miss, which finished at No. 78 in RPI just ahead of No. 87 GCU.
That challenging nonconference slate will send the Lopes prepared into its second Mountain West slate, one that changes with the addition of 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier UTEP as well as Hawai'I and UC Davis. UTEP, which went 25-5 last season and finished No. 19 in RPI, will be GCU's final set of home matches when the Lopes and Miners clash Nov. 12 and 14.
This season's Mountain West scheduling format will be a nine-week run of 18 matches with GCU playing each member twice consecutively at the same site, except for a home-and-home series with travel partner UNLV on Oct. 8 and 10.
The Lopes open conference play Sept. 24-25 at Nevada before hosting Hawai'I on Oct. 2-3. The Mountain West schedule also includes home matches with San José State (Oct. 9-10) and Wyoming (Oct. 16-17) and road sets at Air Force (Oct. 15-17), New Mexico (Oct. 29-31) and UC Davis (Nov. 18-19).
"Our team is super competitive, and I know the conference and conference schedule bring nothing but motivation to stay focused through the summer months," Potts said.
The Mountain West Championship will be held Nov. 24-25 at a site to be announced.
For the Lopes' full 2026 schedule, click here.
"We are super excited about our 2026 schedule, both nonconference and conference play, " Lopes third-year head coach Kendra Potts said. "We are still so grateful to be a part of the Mountain West and what it brings to be able to play high-level matches day in and day out. Our nonconference schedule is extremely competitive. Being able to open at Texas A&M against the national champion is an opportunity that we're all excited to be a part of. Also, ending nonconference play at Kansas and being able to play Kansas and Ole Miss prepares us to start as competitive as possible in the Mountain West."GCU will open in College Station, Texas, as part of a loaded Aug. 28-29 event at Texas A&M that features a season-opening match against the championship-defending host Aggies as well as matches with Big West champion Cal Poly and Sun Belt champion Arkansas State.
The Lopes will begin its home slate with the Sept. 4-6 GCU Invitational, highlighted by the Lope-A-Palooza environment that draws the largest, most raucous crowd of the season as a welcome-back campus event for GCU students. The home opener at Global Credit Union Arena will be against Louisiana Monroe with two more weekend matches against San Francisco and Temple.
On Sept. 10, GCU will head to Flagstaff for the Lumberjack Classic against host Northern Arizona, Omaha and UC Riverside before traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to take part in the Sept. 19 Jayhawk Classic. There, the Lopes will play host Kansas, a 2025 Sweet 16 team, and Ole Miss, which finished at No. 78 in RPI just ahead of No. 87 GCU.
That challenging nonconference slate will send the Lopes prepared into its second Mountain West slate, one that changes with the addition of 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier UTEP as well as Hawai'I and UC Davis. UTEP, which went 25-5 last season and finished No. 19 in RPI, will be GCU's final set of home matches when the Lopes and Miners clash Nov. 12 and 14.
This season's Mountain West scheduling format will be a nine-week run of 18 matches with GCU playing each member twice consecutively at the same site, except for a home-and-home series with travel partner UNLV on Oct. 8 and 10.
The Lopes open conference play Sept. 24-25 at Nevada before hosting Hawai'I on Oct. 2-3. The Mountain West schedule also includes home matches with San José State (Oct. 9-10) and Wyoming (Oct. 16-17) and road sets at Air Force (Oct. 15-17), New Mexico (Oct. 29-31) and UC Davis (Nov. 18-19).
"Our team is super competitive, and I know the conference and conference schedule bring nothing but motivation to stay focused through the summer months," Potts said.
The Mountain West Championship will be held Nov. 24-25 at a site to be announced.
For the Lopes' full 2026 schedule, click here.
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