COMMERCE – East Texas A&M University volleyball coach
Joe Morales has announced the full 2026 season for the Lions on Thursday.
The Lions are slated to host 11 matches this fall on the Hunt Regional Healthcare Court in the Field House, which includes the four-team Lion Invitational to start the season on August 28-30.
"I am extremely excited about this season's schedule," said Morales, who is entering his fourth season in Northeast Texas. "We have the right competition to get us ready for our conference schedule. Our non-conference schedule allows us to see a variety of systems and matchups that can help us moving forward. We cannot wait to get started and opening up at home will be a huge advantage. Our team are ready to get after it."
Prior to beginning the regular season, the Lions play an exhibition contest at UT Arlington on August 13, while hosting its annual Blue & Gold Scrimmage on August 19 and welcoming Southwestern Oklahoma State for an exhibition match on August 22.
The four-team Lion Invitational this season features Texas Southern, Southern Illinois, and ULM along with the Lions.
The season begins on August 28 against Texas Southern. The two teams have met just once prior and it was a 3-0 win for the Lions on August 25, 2023, in San Antonio, which was the first as the Lion head coach for Morales.
The Lions then host Southern Illinois on August 29 and close out the weekend against ULM on August 30. East Texas A&M is facing both the teams for the first time.
The full six-match schedule for the Lion Invitational can be found
HERE.
In the second weekend of the season, the Lions make their first trip to the state of New York in the Division I era to take part in the Lou Carnesecca Classic, hosted by St. John's. The weekend begins against UAB on September 4, with the Lions having beaten the Blazers in Birmingham in 2023.
The Lions then play Rider in the nightcap on September 4 and battle the Red Storm on September 5, which are the first ever matchups against both programs.
Following the tournament at St. John's, the Lions play just four matches outside the state of Texas for the rest of the regular season.
East Texas A&M returns to San Antonio for the Roadrunner Classic on September 11-12, hosted by UTSA. The Lions take on IU Indianapolis for the first time ever on September 11 and take on the hosts, UTSA, in the evening, which is the seventh meeting against the Roadrunners. The weekend closes out with the first ever meeting against Gonzaga on September 12.
The Lions make a quick trip to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma Sooners for the first time ever on September 15, before closing out non-conference play at the UNT Invitational in Denton on September 17-19, hosted by North Texas.
The first match in Denton comes on September 17 against West Virginia, facing the Mountaineers for the first time. The Lions then play Tarleton on September 18, which is the fourth meeting in the last five seasons between the two teams and 48
th meeting overall, with the Lions having won four of the last five meetings.
The final non-conference match comes against the Mean Green on September 19. The Lions and the Mean Green are playing each other for the 22
nd time overall and for the fourth time in the last five years. This is the first meeting in Denton for the two programs since 1987.
The Lions' 16-match Southland Conference schedule remains the same as announced earlier this spring. East Texas A&M plays at UIW (September 24), HCU (September 26), McNeese (October 15), Nicholls (October 17), Lamar (October 24), UTRGV (November 5), and A&M-Corpus Christi (November 7), and Northwestern State (November 12).
During Southland play, the Lions play hosts to LSU New Orleans (October 1), Southeastern La. (October 3), A&M-Corpus Christi (October 8), UTRGV (October 10), SFA (October 21), UIW (October 29), HCU (October 31), and Northwestern State (November 14).
The Southland Conference Tournament is held in Corpus Christi on November 20-22 with the top eight teams qualifying for the postseason. East Texas A&M looks to reach the postseason for the 15
th year in a row, which is the longest active streak among any sport at East Texas A&M.
The NCAA Tournament begins on December 3 with the Championship Weekend set for December 17-20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2026 volleyball season, which includes options for courtside seating. Tickets can be purchased now at
LionAthletics.com/tickets.
2026 LION VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SITE |
TIME |
| Aug. 13 |
at UT ArlingtonEXH |
Arlington |
3 p.m. |
| AUG. 19 |
BLUE & GOLD SCRIMMAGEEXH |
COMMERCE |
6:30 P.M. |
| AUG. 22 |
SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATEEXH |
COMMERCE |
1 P.M. |
| AUG. 28 |
TEXAS SOUTHERN1 |
COMMERCE |
5 P.M. |
| AUG. 29 |
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS1 |
COMMERCE |
4 P.M. |
| AUG. 30 |
ULM1 |
COMMERCE |
2 P.M. |
| Sept. 4 |
vs. UAB2 |
Queens, N.Y. |
10 a.m. ET |
| Sept. 4 |
vs. Rider2 |
Queens, N.Y. |
4 p.m. ET |
| Sept. 5 |
at St. John's2 |
Queens, N.Y. |
1 p.m. ET |
| Sept. 11 |
vs. IU Indianapolis3 |
San Antonio |
10:30 a.m. |
| Sept. 11 |
at UTSA3 |
San Antonio |
6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 12 |
vs. Gonzaga3 |
San Antonio |
10:30 a.m. |
| Sept. 15 |
at Oklahoma |
Norman, Okla. |
6 p.m. |
| Sept. 17 |
vs. West Virginia4 |
Denton |
4 p.m. |
| Sept. 18 |
vs. Tarleton4 |
Denton |
4 p.m. |
| Sept. 19 |
at North Texas4 |
Denton |
2 p.m. |
| Sept. 24 |
at UIWSLC |
San Antonio |
6 p.m. |
| Sept. 26 |
at HCUSLC |
Houston |
1 p.m. |
| OCT. 1 |
LSU NEW ORLEANSSLC |
COMMERCE |
5 p.m.* |
| OCT. 3 |
SOUTHEASTERN LA.SLC |
COMMERCE |
11 a.m. |
| OCT. 8 |
A&M-CORPUS CHRISTISLC |
COMMERCE |
6:30 p.m. |
| OCT. 10 |
UTRGVSLC |
COMMERCE |
1 p.m. |
| Oct. 15 |
at McNeeseSLC |
Lake Charles, La. |
6 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 |
at NichollsSLC |
Thibodaux, La. |
1 p.m. |
| OCT. 21 |
SFASLC |
COMMERCE |
6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 24 |
at LamarSLC |
Beaumont |
11 a.m. |
| OCT. 29 |
UIWSLC |
COMMERCE |
6:30 p.m. |
| OCT. 31 |
HCUSLC |
COMMERCE |
11 a.m. |
| Nov. 5 |
at UTRGVSLC |
Edinburg |
6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 7 |
at A&M-Corpus ChristiSLC |
Corpus Christi |
1 p.m. |
| Nov. 12 |
at Northwestern StateSLC |
Natchitoches, La. |
6:30 p.m. |
| NOV. 14 |
NORTHWESTERN STATESLC |
COMMERCE |
1 p.m. |
| Nov. 20-22 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
Corpus Christi |
TBA |
| Dec. 3-6 |
NCAA Tournament-First & Second Round |
Campus Sites |
TBA |
| Dec. 10-13 |
NCAA Tournament-Regionals |
Campus Sites |
TBA |
| Dec. 17-20 |
NCAA Championship Weekend |
San Antonio |
TBA |
1 – Lion Invitational
2 – Lou Carnesecca Classic
3 – Roadrunner Classic
4 – UNT Invitational
SLC – Southland Conference Match
-ETAMU-
