MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team has unveiled its loaded 2026 schedule under first-year head coach Chris Carter. The Bobcats, playing their first MPSF and NCAA schedule, will play eight games against top 15 opponents from a year ago as part of their 23-game season.
The schedule is also highlighted by ten home games, including April matchups against 21x national champion UCLA.
UC Merced will play 14 conference matches and nine nonconference opponents.
The Bobcats begin the season with back-to-back home matches January 23-24 against Simpson and La Sierra.
UC Merced's first road trip is the following weekend at Benedictine Mesa (Jan. 30) and Arizona Christian (Jan. 31). UC Merced has a combined a seven-match winning streak against BenU Mesa and Simpson, and the Bobcats have combined to play those two NAIA opponents 38 times over the last ten years.
The MPSF opener is scheduled for February 7 at Stanford, who finished 12th in the final AVCA poll a year ago and have made four straight MPSF semifinal appearances.
Following Stanford, the Bobcats will play three straight nonconference games. UC Merced will welcome first-year program Stanton to the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium on February 13 and then travel south to take on nationally-ranked Big West opponents UC San Diego (Feb. 16) and CSUN (Feb. 20).
UC Merced gets back into MPSF action with a home-and-home series against Menlo College February 27-28. The Bobcats home game is at the backend of the series against the Oaks, who won its final six conference games a year ago.
UC Merced and Westcliff will square off in a nonconference match in the Gallo on March 4. The contest is a rematch of the last two California Pacific Conference Tournament Championships – which was the Bobcats former conference. The Bobcats won the title last year.
The Bobcats will host their first-ever NCAA Division One opponent when MPSF foe BYU comes to Merced on March 6. BYU has been ranked top ten for 46 consecutive weeks and finished 2025 ranked No. 8.
Carter's squad will follow with a four-match road trip with back-to-back matches at Vanguard (Mar. 13-14) and 2025 MPSF Tournament Champion Pepperdine (Mar. 20-21). Pepperdine also made the 2025 final four and finished ranked fourth in the country.
Concordia University Irvine comes to town for a weekend series March 27-28 before UCLA enters the Gallo.
UCLA, winners of two of the last three national championships and the 3x defending MPSF regular-season champion, will play at UC Merced April 9-10. UCLA's 21 national championships are 16 more than any other men's volleyball program.
The Bobcats season finishes with a home-and-home series against Jessup. The home match is set for April 15 with the season finale at Jessup on April 17.
The full schedule is available here.
Tickets for the 2026 season will be available for purchase later this winter.
UC Merced, currently in its second year of a three-year transition period, will be fully eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play in the 2027 season.
