Head Coach Ali Skayhan and Volleyball Excited to Announce 2026 Schedule
6/9/2026 3:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – As anticipation for the impending 2026 campaign hits a crescendo, USC Upstate volleyball and head coach Ali Skayhan are excited to announce the team's upcoming slate, featuring 10 home dates and seeing the Spartans host a multi-team event at home for the third straight season.
The season begins with a trip to the Commonwealth of Virginia as Upstate travels to Old Dominion for a four-team, two-day event. The Spartans open the tournament on Aug. 28 with matches against the host Monarchs (10 a.m. ET) and Norfolk State (5 p.m.) before closing the event on Aug. 29 against St. John's (12 p.m.).
Returning home for the first time in the campaign, Upstate and Gardner-Webb partner to host a three-day, five-team tournament, hosting Alabama State, UNCW, and West Florida from Sep. 3-5. The Spartans face the Hornets on Sep. 4 at 4 p.m. ET and face the Argonauts on Sep. 5 at 2 p.m.
The season's third week brings Upstate's lone midweek contest of the 2026 campaign, facing off against Queens, in Charlotte, for the second straight season on Sep. 9 (6 p.m. ET). The Spartans continue their trek through North Carolina on the weekend, facing North Carolina Central and Elon in single matches on Sep. 11 and Sep. 12, respectively, both matches serving at 6 p.m. ET.
Closing non-conference play, the Spartans see three matches comprise the fourth weekend of the season. A home-and-home series with Western Carolina opens the weekend, playing in Spartanburg on Sep. 17 and Cullowhee on Sep. 18 (both matches featuring a 6 p.m. ET first serve). The weekend and the team's non-conference slate close against Clemson (1 p.m.) on Sep. 20.
Once again, Big South Conference play features a 14-game home-and-home scheduling format, featuring the traditional Friday/Saturday alignment for the fourth straight season, with match times set for 6 p.m. Fridays and 4 p.m. Saturdays—Upstate's schedule features one exception. As nine league institutions sponsor volleyball, each program plays just one game during the weekend it competes against its travel partner, with these weeks falling on the first and last weeks of the league slate.
Upstate opens league play inside the G.B. Hodge Center, hosting travel partner UNC Asheville on Sep. 25 in the first of two Ingles I-26 Rivalry Series meetings, beginning a five-game homestand to open league play.
The homestand continues with matches against High Point and Radford on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, respectively, before closing against Charleston Southern and Presbyterian on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, respectively.
The Spartans' longest road swing during conference play opens with the final two matches of the front half of Big South play, seeing trips to Gardner-Webb on Oct. 16 and Winthrop on Oct. 17. The road trip continues Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 against Radford and High Point, respectively, beginning the rematch portion of the league slate.
Big South play continues with the final two home matches of the season, seeing Upstate host Winthrop on Oct. 30 and Gardner-Webb on Oct. 31. Wrapping the regular season, the month of November sees the Spartans travel to Presbyterian (Nov. 6), Charleston Southern (Nov. 7), and UNC Asheville (Nov. 13).
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