Pioneers Volleyball Faces 30-Match Slate in 2026 Campaign
7/6/2026 12:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FULL 2026 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
Fairfield, Conn. – Entering his 20th season strolling the sidelines at the William H. Pitt Athletic Center, head women's volleyball coach Rob Mahan has announced a 30-match schedule for the Pioneers 2026 campaign.
Included in the Pios 2026 schedule is an 18-match Metro Conference schedule which is made up of home-and-home series with seven opponents and a single meeting each with Siena, Marist, Iona and Manhattan.
Prior to opening its league schedule, Sacred Heart will participate in four preseason tournaments, including hosting the Sacred Heart Invitational for the second-straight season as they welcome Binghamton, Le Moyne and Central Connecticut to the Pitt Center for two-days of action spanning September 4-5.
Sacred Heart will open up its 28th season of Pioneer volleyball on Saturday, August 29 with the first preseason tournament in West Point, N.Y., the Black Knight Invitational. After opening the season with the host Black Knights, the Pioneers will also face Albany on opening day and Iowa on day two of the tournament.
After hosting the Sacred Heart Invitational the following weekend, the Pios will head cross country for the Cal Baptist Invitational, a two-day event in Riverside, Calif. SHU will begin with Idaho on day one, Thursday, September 10 and will face North Dakota and the host Cal Baptist on day two.
A quick stop back at the Pitt Center will welcome Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday, September 15 before heading to Cambridge, Mass. and Harvard University for two matches in the Harvard Invitational. In addition to facing the host Crimson, the Pioneers will also take on Providence in what are the final two matches prior to turning their attention to Metro Conference action.
SHU will begin its third season of Metro Conference action on the road with its longest road trip in league play when they head to upstate New York to take on Canisius and Niagara on September 25 and 26, respectively.
After making the long trek back to the Nutmeg State, the Pioneers will spend the next two weeks on their home court as they welcome five-straight opponents to the Pitt Center. First up will be the first of two meetings against crosstown rival Fairfield on Tuesday, September 29. The month of October will begin with visits from Merrimack (Oct. 2) and Quinnipiac (Oct. 3) while Rider (Oct. 9) and St. Peter's (Oct. 10) close out the five-match homestand.
The middle of October will find the Pioneers on the road for back-to-back matches against Siena and Marist on October 16 and 17, the first two opponents they will face just once in the regular season. The two other opponents they will meet only one time are Iona and Manhattan who will visit the Pioneers Park Avenue campus on October 23 and 24.
Sacred Heart will then close out the month of October and begin the month of November on the road as they make the return trip to the five teams conference that visited campus in early October. First up in what will be a five-match road stretch is the rematch of the crosstown rivalry against Fairfield on Tuesday, October 27. Another in-state rival follows on Friday, October 30 when the Pioneers head to Quinnipiac before making the trip to Merrimack on Halloween night.
The final two road games in the regular season will see the Pioneers spend a weekend in The Garden State as they take on St. Peter's and Rider on November 6 and 7. The final two regular season matches will feature the return matches from Niagara and Canisius on Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14.
Following the regular season, the top six teams in the Metro Conference Standings will advance to the league championship with first round matches pitting the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place teams against each other at the home court of the two higher seeds on Tuesday, November 17. Following the opening round of action, the semifinal and championship matches will be held at the home of the top seeded team in the tournament with the semifinals on Saturday, November 21 and the title match on Sunday, November 22.
All of the Pioneers 13 home matches as well as the entire Metro Conference Schedule will be carried live on ESPN+. Links for live stats and live video will be available at SacredHeartPioneers.com.
