SMU Volleyball Schedule 2026

2026 Season Outlook

SMU enters 2026 ranked No. 11 in the AVCA preseason poll - the highest preseason ranking in program history - and picked fourth in the ACC by the league's coaches. That is the reward for a 2025 season in which the Mustangs tied a program record with 27 wins, climbed to No. 7 nationally and reached the first Sweet 16 in school history, with signature wins over Louisville, Stanford and a sweep of eventual national champion Texas A&M at Moody in September. The core is back and it got better. Junior middle blocker Favor Anyanwu returns after hitting .409 with 178 total blocks, fifth-most in the country.

Joining her is Suli Davis, the BYU transfer who was an AVCA Second Team All-American as a freshman and set the Cougars' freshman kill record with 541. Both were named Preseason All-ACC and both sit on the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List. Head coach Sam Erger built the schedule to match the expectations: nine opponents are ranked in the AVCA preseason top 25, five of them in the top 10, and SMU plays eight of its ten non-conference matches away from Dallas. There is no soft landing anywhere on this slate, which is exactly the point when the NCAA selection committee starts weighing resumes in December.

Program History & Tradition

SMU's 2025 season was the best in program history: 27 wins to tie the program record, a third-place ACC finish, a climb to No. 7 nationally - the highest ranking the program has ever held - and the first Sweet 16 appearance in school history. Along the way the Mustangs beat Louisville and Stanford and swept eventual national champion Texas A&M at Moody Coliseum in September. The 2026 preseason ranking of No. 11 is also a program first. NCAA.com noted that the only two national champions to start a season outside the preseason top 10 - UCLA in 2011 and Stanford in 2016 - were both ranked exactly No. 11.

Head Coach Spotlight

Sam Erger is in his fifth season leading SMU and has taken the program from an American Athletic Conference contender to a top-15 national team in the ACC. His 2025 side tied the program record with 27 wins, finished third in the ACC, reached No. 7 in the national rankings and made the program's first Sweet 16. Erger's staff has been especially effective in the transfer portal - Suli Davis from BYU and Jadyn Livings from USC are the current examples - while continuing to recruit heavily in Texas. Trent Sorensen serves as associate head coach.

What to Watch in 2026

The ACC opener against preseason No. 5 Stanford at Moody Coliseum on September 25 is the loudest statement available before October; SMU beat the Cardinal in 2025. The second annual Showdown at the Net brings No. 2 Texas to Dallas on September 9, the biggest non-conference home ticket of the year. SMU plays preseason No. 4 Pittsburgh twice inside four days, in Pittsburgh on October 7 and at home on October 11. Louisville visits on November 12 in an ESPNU window.

And on August 27, Spikes Under the Lights puts SMU alongside Nebraska, Penn State and Florida at AT&T Stadium in an exhibition with a $1 million prize pool. The Paradise Invitational in Nassau on September 12-13 is the first event of its kind held outside the United States.

SMU Volleyball 2026 Schedule Overview

Schedule and scores checked October 12, 2026 · Official source: smumustangs.com

The 2026 SMU volleyball schedule runs 30 matches - 10 non-conference and 20 in the ACC - from the season opener against Texas A&M in Milwaukee on August 23 to the regular-season finale at Louisville on November 28. Twelve of those matches are at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. SMU opens No. 11 in the AVCA preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking in program history, and was picked fourth in the ACC behind Stanford, Pittsburgh and Louisville. The slate is deliberately punishing: nine opponents are ranked in the AVCA preseason top 25, five of them in the top 10, and eight of the ten non-conference matches are away from Dallas, five at neutral sites across five states and one country.

Texas visits Moody on September 9 for the second annual Showdown at the Net, Stanford opens ACC play there on September 25, and Pittsburgh is played twice inside four days in October. The Paradise Invitational at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau on September 12-13 is the first event of its kind held outside the United States, and the September 2 trip to TCU is the first meeting between the schools since 2021. Full dates, times, TV assignments, venues and results are below.