LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball program will play a total of 29 regular-season matches during the 2026 campaign, with 12 of those taking place inside the friendly confines of The Pavilion. The fall slate, the fourth under head coach Malia Shoji, will feature 18 contests against Mountain West foes as well as 11 more versus nonconference competition.

Breaking the schedule down further, UNLV will play a total of six matches against MW newcomers Hawai'i, UC Davis and UTEP. UNLV will face three teams from the Big West, two from the Pac 12 and one each from the Big 10, Big 12, Big Sky, Southland, Summit League and WCC over the first four weekends of the season.

The Scarlet & Gray's first 11 contests will be played over the first four weekends beginning with the Players Era Volleyball Showcase against five-time national champions Nebraska (Aug. 29) and TCU (Aug. 30) at T-Mobile Arena. 

The next two weeks will see UNLV hit the road for a pair of tournaments, the first being the Boise State Classic where the Scarlet & Gray will face the host Broncos (Sept. 3), North Dakota State (Sept. 4) and Idaho State (Sept. 5). UNLV will then head to Northridge, California against host CSUN (Sept. 11), Fresno State (Sept. 12) and San Francisco (Sept. 13) at The Ridge Invitational. The final nonconference slate will see the Scarlet & Gray host The Rebel Challenge where Southeastern Louisiana (Sept. 18), UC Irvine (Sept. 19) and UC San Diego (Sept. 20) come to town.

The Mountain West slate begins the final weekend of September with UNLV playing every conference member twice. UNLV will open up their league schedule by hosting UC Davis (Sept. 24 & 26) before heading to UTEP (Oct. 1 & 3). UNLV will then split home-and-road contests against Grand Canyon, where the Rebels host the Lopes on Oct. 8 before traveling to Phoenix on Oct. 10. The Scarlet & Gray will then host UNR (Oct. 15 & 17), with both matches being a part of the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union.

For the first time since the 2003 season, UNLV travels to Hawai'i for a pair of matches on back-to-back days (Oct. 23-24). After returning home to host Air Force (Oct. 29 & 31), UNLV heads back on the road to face Wyoming (Nov. 5 & 7). The Rebs will play its final two home regular season matches against New Mexico (Nov. 12 & 14), before closing out the regular season at San Jose State (Nov. 18-19).

The 2026 CU1 MW Women's Volleyball Championship presented by Palms Casino Resort is set to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and conclude Wednesday, Nov. 25 at The Pavilion in Las Vegas. All home and conference matches will be streamed on MW+.

NONCONFERENCE NOTES: UNLV has squared off with former MW members Boise State and Fresno State (2025), along with UCSD (2024) and Idaho State (2022) within the past five seasons; however, this will be the first time the Rebels have played a quintet of teams in seven plus years - CSUN (2019), Southeastern Louisiana/UC Irvine (2015), San Francisco/TCU (2011), Moreover, this will be the first meetings all-time against Nebraska and North Dakota State.

RETURNING REBELS: UNLV returns 11 letterwinners from the 2025 squad: Alexa Ankerstar, Sloan Cleveland, Rheanna Deen-Jackson, Jaida Harris, Jada Ingram, Caligh King, Basia Latos, Logan Lindsay, Kaia Thiele, Tia Traudt and Brooklyn Williams, however, Williams will miss the 2026 season due to a season-ending injury.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Scarlet & Gray is coming off of a 13-win campaign in 2025. The Rebels, who closed out the year 13-15 overall and 7-11 (9th MW), return MW Newcomer of the Year Jaida Harris, who joined the All-MW team after transferring from Long Beach State. The then-redshirt sophomore, saw her name in several top MW-only statistical categories, including third in points (297.5), fourth in kills (254), tied for fourth in service aces (22), fifth in points per set (4.25) and tied for fifth in both kills per set (3.63) and service aces per set (0.31). The Las Vegas native led the Scarlet & Gray in four of those aforementioned figures as well as attack attempts (696).

Senior libero Caleigh King headed the lineup with 105 sets played as a junior last season, stepping on the court in every set the Rebels played. The Southlake, Texas native became the seventh member of the 1,000-dig club in the final match of the season against San Jose State on November 22). She also joined the program's top ten career service aces with 84 career services aces. King earned a season-high 396 digs on 3.77 digs per set as well as 148 assists on 1.41 assists per set. The libero tallied the second-most digs in conference play with 279 digs, averaging 3.99 digs per set, and picked up double-digit digs in 21 of the 28 matches, including five matches of 20+ digs and 12 matches of 15+ digs.

UNLV SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for the 2026 home schedule, which are available to get now for as low as $50, can be purchased here. Season tickets for active alumni, faculty & staff as well as senior Rebels (62+) are available for purchase at $40, regular season ticket pricing being marked at only $50. Single-game tickets will be available at a later date.