SAINT LEO, Fla. – Second-year head coach Abby Keim of the Saint Leo University volleyball team announced the 2026 schedule for the program Friday morning (July 31). The schedule features 12 home contests, 12 away matches and seven neutral site matchups including one trip outside the state of Florida for the Coker Cobra Classic. The Lions will face six matches against teams ranked in the final 2025 AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll including two versus No. 3 Tampa, two versus No. 6 Barry, and a pair of matches versus No. 19 Lynn. 
 
Ten of the Lions matches will be against 2025 NCAA Tournament participants including region champions Tampa.
 
The Lions open the 2026 campaign with a exhibition home match against St. Johns River State College on Friday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. The regular season kicks off with the lone out of state trip of the season as the Lions travel to Hartsville, S.C. for the Coker Cobra Classic. Chowan and USC Aiken will mark the first two opponents of the year on Friday, Aug. 28 at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. respectively. It will be the programs first meeting with both opponents according to available history. The Lions close out the weekend with an 11:30 a.m. match against host Coker on Saturday.  
 
The following weekend, Sept. 4-5, the Lions travel to future Sunshine State Conference member Flagler for a four-match weekend. SLU takes on Maryville and Flagler on the opening day before facing Lees-McRae and Valdosta State on Saturday. The final non-conference weekend of the season takes place Sep. 11-12 as the Lions and Eckerd College Tritons co-host the Lions/Tritons Invitational. All matches on Friday, Sept. 11 will take place in St. Petersburg while Saturday's action will be hosted inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center on Saint Leo University's campus. The Lions face Franklin Pierce and Henderson State on Friday at 12:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Saturday's action will feature four matches at Saint Leo with just one featuring the Lions. Saint Leo will take on Georgia College at 2:30 p.m. for the Lions' home opener.
 
The Sunshine State Conference slate begins at home for the Lions as they host Florida Southern and Eckerd for the opening weekend. The Lions take on the Mocs at 6 p.m. Friday night on Sept. 18 before facing Eckerd at 4 p.m. on Sept. 19.   
 
Saint Leo will play a total of 10 home SSC contests including five Friday night meetings, four Saturday afternoon match-ups and one Tuesday night contest. Opponents include Florida Southern (9/18), Eckerd (9/19), Tampa (9/29), Barry (10/2), Florida Tech (10/3), Palm Beach Atlantic (10/16), Lynn (10/23), Nova Southeastern (10/24), Rollins (11/6) and Embry-Riddle (11/7). All home Friday and Tuesday night matches will be held at 6 p.m. while the Saturday afternoon matches will begin at 4 p.m.
 
SLU will play 10 conference road contests in 2026 including three on Friday nights, four on Saturday afternoons, and three Tuesday night meetings. Opponents include Nova Southeastern (9/25), Lynn (9/26), Embry-Riddle (10/9), Rollins (10/10), Eckerd (10/13), Tampa (10/27), Florida Tech (10/30), Barry (10/31), Florida Southern (11/10) and Palm Beach Atlantic (11/14).   
 
The NCAA South Region Championship is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 while the NCAA Division II National Championship is slated for Dec. 3-5 in Kansas City, Mo.