DC Women's Volleyball releases 2026 schedule
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The 2026 season continues to come into focus for the Defiance College women's volleyball team as the team announced its 33-game regular season schedule on Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets open the regular season at home on Friday, Aug. 14 with a tri-match against Governors State and Indiana-East. Those two home contests will be DC's lone home matches for nearly a month until returning home on Sept. 9. Defiance will hit the road for two-day, four-game invitationals over the following three weekends with trips to the Onset Invitational (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Mishawaka Mayhem (co-hosted by Bethel and IU South Bend), and Emileigh Jo Cooper Memorial Invitational (hosted by Rio Grande).
This season's double round-robin conference slate will begin on Sept. 2 at Rochester Christian as DC aims at returning to the WHAC Tournament for the third straight season. The Jackets' first home conference match will take place on Sept. 9 against Lawrence Tech. With a bye week in conference action, DC will host Indiana-Northwest and Ohio Christian for a non-conference tri-match on Sept. 18. Other notable home dates include a Friday night match on Oct. 2 against Indiana Tech to kick off Defiance College's homecoming weekend and the final home match of the year against in-state foe UNOH on Nov. 4.
2026 Defiance Women's Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 11 vs. Kalamazoo Valley CC (Exhibition), 11 a.m.
Aug. 14 vs. Governors State, 2 p.m.
Aug. 14 vs. Indiana-East, 7 p.m.
Aug. 21 vs. Huntington, 10 a.m. (Onset Invitational)
Aug. 21 vs. Indiana Wesleyan, 5 p.m. (Onset Invitational)
Aug. 22 vs. Marian, 10:45 a.m. (Onset Invitational)
Aug. 22 vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene, 3 p.m. (Onset Invitational)
Aug. 28 vs. Calumet, 3 p.m. (at IU-South Bend)
Aug. 28 at Indiana-South Bend, 7 p.m.
Aug. 29 at Bethel, 12 p.m.
Aug. 29 vs. Grace, 4 p.m. (at Bethel)
Sept. 2 at Rochester Christian, 7 p.m.*
Sept. 4 vs. Tennessee Wesleyan, 12 p.m. (at Rio Grande)
Sept. 4 vs. West Virginia Tech, 5 p.m. (at Rio Grande)
Sept. 5 at Rio Grande, 10 a.m.
Sept. 5 vs. Georgetown, 3 p.m. (at Rio Grande)
Sept. 9 vs. Lawrence Tech, 7 p.m.*
Sept. 11 at Aquinas, 7 p.m.*
Sept. 12 at Cornerstone, 2 p.m.*
Sept. 18 vs. Indiana-Northwest, 2 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Ohio Christian, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 vs. Michigan-Dearborn, 7 p.m.*
Sept. 26 vs. Madonna, 2 p.m.*
Sept. 30 at Northwestern Ohio, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 2 vs. Indiana Tech, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 7 at Lawrence Tech, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 9 vs. Rochester Christian, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 16 vs. Cornerstone, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 17 vs. Aquinas, 2 p.m.*
Oct. 23 at Madonna, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 24 at Michigan-Dearborn, 2 p.m.*
Oct. 29 at Ohio Christian, 7 p.m.
Nov. 4 vs. Northwestern Ohio, 7 p.m.
Nov. 6 at Indiana Tech, 7 p.m.
Nov. 11-14 – WHAC Tournament
*Denotes conference game
Quoting Head Coach Jeremy Thornburg
"I am excited for this upcoming season as we work to continue to be a top contender in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. We prepared this schedule for what we are capable of and what we hope to be in the future. We are playing five teams who were in the 2025 NAIA national tournament in our first few weekends. I believe that with our returners and our newly added depth, we will be poised to compete with the best teams in the nation as we prepare for our WHAC regular season schedule. Our team is excited to meet the moment and improve upon last year's accomplishments to move further into postseason and work towards being a WHAC tournament championship contender."
-JACKETS-