Romeoville, Ill. – Lewis University head men's volleyball coach
Dan Friend unveiled the Flyers 2026 schedule which features 29 regular season contests, 13 of which will be played at home in Neil Carey Arena.
The Flyers, who ended last year ranked 15
th nationally, will play 14 matches against teams who were also ranked in the final AVCA Top 20 poll last season. Three of those contests will see Lewis square off against programs that finished last season ranked in the top five, including a home bout against No. 4 Pepperdine on Jan. 24, followed by meetings with No. 3 Hawaii and national runner-up No. 2 UCLA at the Outrigger Tournament from March 12–14 in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
"We are excited for a great opportunity with a tough non-conference schedule and an always rugged conference schedule" Friend said. "With NCAA bracket expanding this year to 12 teams there is more opportunity for post season play so we want to take care of every match."
Lewis begins its 2026 season in the Golden State on Jan. 9 against Menlo before facing Stanford the next day. The Flyers return home three days later to face fellow Chicagoland school Roosevelt in their first home match of the year. Despite being only an hour apart, Lewis and Roosevelt faced each other for the first time in program history last year with the Flyers winning, 3-0.
The red and white head back on the road after their midweek against Roosevelt and head to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a pair of matches starting with a neutral site contest against St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 16, before facing 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier Penn State the next day. Last season, the Flyers swept the then No. 8 Nittany Lions, 3-0, at home.
Lewis is back on home on Jan. 23 for the first of four consecutive home games, starting with a Friday night showdown against Quincy. The next day, the Flyers will face Final Four qualifier Pepperdine in the 10
th all-time meeting between both schools. Lewis will close out January with a pair of contests against UC San Diego (Jan. 30), who ended the 2025 campaign ranked 10
th nationally, and first-year program Manhattan (Jan. 31).
The Flyers begin MIVA play in February with a trio of road games, starting on Feb. 4 at defending MIVA Co-Regular Season Champions McKendree before heading to Missouri to face McKendree on Feb. 6. Lewis closes its three-game road swing in the Windy City against longtime rival and defending MIVA Tournament Champions Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers are the Flyers most played opponent with 73 prior meetings ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Lewis will face Rockhurst at home on Feb. 13 before heading to Charlotte, North Carolina, for back-to-back road contests against Queens (Feb. 20 & 22). The Flyers will close February in Neil Carey Arena with a pair of MIVA matches against Ohio State (Feb. 26) and Northern Kentucky (Feb. 27).
March sees the Flyers continue their homestand at home against conference foes Purdue Fort Wayne (March 5) and Ball State (March 7).
Afterwards, the Flyers will escape the Chicago snow from March 12-14 as they head to Honolulu, Hawai'i to play in the Outrigger Tournament in their first of five road/neutral site games. Over three days in the Aloha State, Lewis will take on NCAA Tournament qualifiers and national powerhouses UCLA (March 12) and Hawai'i (March 13) along with Mount Olive (March 14). Lewis last competed in the Outrigger Tournament in 2022 where they faced the host Rainbow Warriors twice.
Lewis will return to the mainland and close their season-long five match road swing against Northern Kentucky (March 19) and Ohio State (March 21).
The Flyers will end the home part of the regular season with three consecutive matches, starting with Loyola on March 26
th in the 75
th all-time regular or postseason match between the Flyers and Ramblers. They will close the regular season a week later against Lindenwood (April 2) and McKendree (April 4).
The Flyers conclude the regular season on the road at Ball State (April 9) and Purdue Fort Wayne (April 11).
The MIVA Championship is scheduled for April 18 – 25 with times and locations TBA. The NCAA Tournament is set for May 4-11 with the first round at campus sites and remaining rounds at UCLA's historic Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
All-Americans
Oguzhan Oguz (Bursa, Turkey/Ocean) and
Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) are back for Lewis after an impressive 2024 campaign. Oguz appeared in 28 matches and a total of 108 sets and was a First Team All-MIVA selection and a member of the MIVA All-Tournament Team.
The junior led the team and ranked second in the MIVA with 435 kills and ranked 10th in the nation in kills/set at 4.01. Oguz also led the MIVA with 497 points and 4.60 points/set. As for Paula, he appeared in 30 out of the 31 matches and earned All-American honorable mention accolades. The Tampa, Florida, native led the MIVA and the nation in total digs (287), which now ranks second all-time in program history for digs in a single season, and was first in the MIVA and seventh in the nation at digs/set (2.50). Lewis also gained the services of another All-American this offseason with the addition of
Ian Schuller who was an All-American at Lindenwood during the 2024 campaign. That year, Schuller compiled 319 kills, led Lindenwood with 183 digs and had 10 or more digs across seven matches, highlighted by 13 dig performances against MIVA foes Loyola Chicago and McKendree.
Along with Oguz and Paula, the Flyers also return All-MIVA standout
Frederick Krueger-Beer (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa East), who finished last season ranked 12th in the MIVA in total blocks. Seniors
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) and
Piotr Wymoczyl (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove HS), along with redshirt junior
Shawn Baggs Jr. (Gilbert, Ariz./Casteel HS), also return. Haber led the Flyers in service aces (36) last season, while he, Wymoczyl, and Baggs Jr. each ranked among the team's top 10 in total kills.
Tickets for all home volleyball matches are on sale and
can be found here. A release regarding the men's volleyball promotional schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
For the latest news, scores, and updates on Lewis men's volleyball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @Lewismensvb on Instagram and @LewisMVBall on X.
