Volleyball Announces 2026 Schedule

2026 SCHEDULE

A pair of non-conference home tournaments, a neutral-site match with Syracuse in Rochester, N.Y., and an 18-game Metro Conference slate highlight the 2026 Canisius volleyball schedule announced today by head coach Tom Hanna.

In all, the Golden Griffins are scheduled to play 28 regular-season contests, starting Aug. 28, when the Blue and Gold plays neutral-site contests against Duquesne and Mercyhurst on the first day of the YSU Invitational, presented by Mercy Health, in Youngstown, Ohio. Canisius will close out its first weekend of the season Aug. 29 with a road match against the Youngstown State Penguins.

On Sept. 2, Canisius will travel to face cross-town rival Buffalo in the first match of the Buffalo/Canisius Invitational at Broadview Arena on UB's campus. That meeting between the Griffs and the Bulls will be the first between the two programs since the 2022 campaign. As part of the Buffalo/Canisius Invitational, the Griffs will host three non-league matches against Dartmouth (Sept. 4 and Sept. 6) and UMBC (Sept. 5) at the Koessler Athletic Center.

On Sept. 13, Canisius will travel east on the New York State Thruway to play Syracuse in the inaugural Flower City Volleyball Invite at the Main Street Armory in Rochester, N.Y. Canisius returns home Sept. 18-19, as it serves as co-hosts of the WNY Invitational with Niagara. The Griffs will play Le Moyne on Sept. 18 before hosting Valparaiso on Sept. 19, and those two schools are set to play a neutral-site match at the Koessler Athletic Center on Sept. 18 at noon.

The Griffs will open league play in the Metro Conference Sept. 25 when the team plays host to Sacred Heart, and the following day, the Blue and Gold will take on defending league champion Fairfield at the Koessler Athletic Center. Canisius will close out the month of September on the road Sept. 29, with the first of two "Battle of the Bridge" matches against Niagara, with start time in Lewiston, N.Y., set for 6 p.m.

The road match at Niagara starts a five-game road swing for the Griffs, who will travel to play at Rider (Oct. 2) and Saint Peter's (Oct. 3) before returning to the New York City area Oct. 9-10 for Metro contests at Iona and Manhattan. After hosting Quinnipiac (Oct. 16) and Merrimack (Oct. 17), Canisius heads back on the road to play at Marist (Oct. 23) and Siena (Oct. 24) before starting a five-match homestand Oct. 27 against Niagara.

After closing the month of October with home contests against Saint Peter's (Oct. 30) and Rider (Oct. 31), the Blue and Gold will close out the home portion of the 2026 slate Nov. 6-7 with matches against Siena and Marist. The Marist match will also serve as the program's Senior Day. Canisius will wrap up the regular-season schedule Nov. 13-14 with road contests at Fairfield and Sacred Heart.

The 2026 Metro Conference Volleyball Championship tournament will feature six teams, and is set to begin with a pair of opening round matches at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams on Nov. 17. The semifinal and championship round of the 2026 Metro Conference Volleyball Championship will be played Nov. 21-22 at the site of the league's regular-season champion. The winner of the 2026 Metro Conference Volleyball Championship will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship field.

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