Romeoville, Ill. – Lewis University women's volleyball head coach
Lorelee Smith unveiled the team's 2026 schedule, which features 26 matches with seven at home in newly renovated Neil Carey Arena.
The Flyers will begin their 2026 campaign with a trip to Buffalo, New York, to compete in the D'Youville Tournament. Lewis will face 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament qualifier Pitt-Johnstown and hosts D'Youville on August 28 before facing PSAC foes Lock Haven and Kutztown the next day.
After their trip to the City of Light, the Flyers will head to Denver and participate in the prestigious Colorado Premier Invitational September 4-5. Lewis will battle Concordia-St. Paul and Palm Beach Atlantic on its first day. Its day two opponents will be determined by their first day record. Both teams the Flyers will face on the first day qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season with Concordia-St. Paul going to the Elite Eight.
Lewis then heads to the Sunshine State from September 11-12 to play the Florida Institute of Technology, Barry and Embry-Riddle in the Embry-Riddle Invitational. Last season, the Flyers went 2-1 at the event, defeating Clark Atlanta and the host Eagles.
The red and white return to Romeoville for their first home match of the year on September 18 as they face Quincy in the first regular season game on the newly renovated Neil Carey Arena floor. The new court at Neil Carey Arena was made possible through the generosity of the many donors and supporters of Lewis athletics. Their continued support enriches the student-athlete experience and empowers our teams to compete for conference and national championships across all sports. If you would like to support the Flyers,
you can click here. Lewis will wrap their first home weekend against Illinois-Springfield the next day.
After a pair of road games at Upper Iowa (Sept. 25) and Truman State (Sept. 26), the Flyers will open their longest homestand of the year with three consecutive home matches, starting on October 2 against Missouri S&T. Lewis will battle Maryville the next day before closing the home stretch on October 6 against Parkside. The Rangers are led by Lewis alumna Leigh Barea, who was a member of the Flyers' from 2011-14 and graduated as the record holder for career assists in the rally-scoring era with 4,685.
After a road contest against UIndy on October 10, the Flyers head to Hammond, Indiana, to compete in the Midwest Crossover October 17-18. Last season, Lewis earned one of its biggest ranked wins of the year at the event, defeating No. 23 Grand Valley State of the GLIAC, 3-0. Lewis will wrap its five-match road swing with a trip to the Gateway of the West take on defending GLVC Champions Missouri-St. Louis (Oct. 23) and McKendree (Oct. 24).
The Flyers will conclude their home slate the next weekend with matches against Rockhurst (Oct. 30) and William Jewell (Oct. 31) before closing the regular season on the road against Southwest Baptist (Nov. 6) and Drury (Nov. 7).
The GLVC Women's Volleyball Championship is scheduled to take place from November 12-14 in Williamsville, Illinois, with the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Details on how to purchase tickets and a promotional schedule for all women's volleyball home matches will be announced later this summer.
For the latest news, scores, and updates on Lewis women's volleyball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @Lewisuwvb on Instagram and @LewisWVBall on X
