LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Volleyball's 53rd varsity season schedule was unveiled on Thursday for the upcoming 2026 campaign.

The Saints' trek features a 32-match slate including 14 home matches and four tournaments with trips to the Central Connecticut State Tournament, the Mercyhurst Invitational, and the combined Robert Morris/Duquesne Invitational. In addition, the Saints will once again host a tournament at the UHY Center during the second weekend in September.

The first-ever Metro Volleyball Championship, formerly known as the MAAC after the conference re-branded itself earlier this month, will return to the format where the top overall seed will earn the right to host the semifinals and championship. The No. 3 and No. 4 finishers during the regular season will host Opening Round matches.    

The Opening Round will occur on Tuesday Nov. 17 while the semis are slated for Friday, Nov. 20 with the championship taking place on Monday, Nov. 23. The top six regular season finishers will once again qualify for postseason play in a single elimination format with all matches being streamed on ESPN+.  

Siena (14-19 overall, 9-9 in conference play in 2025) finished with its most victories since the 2015 season and qualified for the conference postseason as a six-seed in head coach Tyler Kanelos' debut season. 

The Saints return 12 players to the roster and 74 percent of its kills production from last season. The team also added six promising transfers to the team.  

"Myself and our staff are very excited to kick off our 2026 season," said coach Kanelos. "We've added in some great talent to our roster this fall and return many key contributors from the 2025 season. We're looking forward to building off of one of Siena Volleyball's most successful seasons in recent memory and we're excited to continue to move our program in the right direction."  

Siena kick starts the season with a three-game grouping beginning on Friday, Aug. 28 against Rhode Island in the Central Connecticut State Tournament and will play host CCSU on Saturday, August 29 as well as Holy Cross on the same day in rematches from last year.  

During the second weekend, the Saints will travel to Erie, PA to take part in the Mercyhurst Invitational from Sept. 4-5 where they'll play Cleveland State for the first time since 2004, hosts Mercyhurst for just the second time in program history and wrap up against Morehead State in a first-time meeting, 

The third tournament of the season brings the Green & Gold back home where it hosts Delaware State on Friday, Sept. 11 at noon in its home opener. The Saints will also play Le Moyne on Sept. 11 for a 6 p.m. start and then will meet Bucknell for the first time in seven seasons on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m.  

A fourth tournament kicks off on Sept. 18 with matches against Maryland-Eastern Shore and Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA—a suburb of Pittsburgh at the UPMC Events Center and a nearby trip to play at Duquesne for the first time since 2002 on Sept. 19 in Pittsburgh at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.  

Other noteworthy non-conference matches will also include a home date against crosstown rivals UAlbany in the Capital Cup on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the UHY Center at 6 p.m. and another meeting at Le Moyne in Syracuse on Oct. 20.  

Siena opens its first season in the rebranded Metro Conference (37th season combined in the MAAC-Metro) by visiting St. Peter's and Rider on the weekend of Sept. 25-26. 

The Saints will play an 18-match conference schedule, playing Marist, Manhattan, Iona, Quinnipiac, Canisius, Niagara, and Merrimack in a home-and-home series while playing defending MAAC Champions Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Rider and St. Peter's one time apiece.   

The home conference schedule follows a Friday at 6 p.m. start time followed by a Saturday 2 p.m. start at the UHY Center with exception to a lone Tuesday evening match against Marist on Sept. 29.  

Other home matches feature Iona and Manhattan on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, Fairfield and Sacred Heart on Oct. 16-17, Niagara and Canisius on the weekend of Oct. 23-24 and the final home weekend wraps with visits from Merrimack on Nov. 13 and Quinnipiac for Senior Day on Nov. 14.    ¬