PORTALES, N.M. - Eastern New Mexico Volleyball begins its 2026 season in just 43 days. Head coach Karli Bustos will enter her second season in Portales with a revamped roster ready to take on the fall. Below is a month-by-month breakdown of the 2026 volleyball schedule, including opponents (in bold) and promotional events (in italics). The full schedule, in sequence, will be at the end of this article.

August

Aug. 27-29: FHSU Tigers Invite

     The Greyhounds start the season in the Sunflower State on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Their match against Hastings will be the first regular season competition of the academic year, taking place on August 27th at 3 p.m. Mountain Time. Friday the 28th will have the Greyhounds up bright and early, facing Regis at 8:30 a.m. MT and Truman State at 4 p.m. MT. The Hounds close out the multi-team event (MTE) on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT against host Fort Hays State.

September

Sept. 4-5: Cowgirls Classic (at New Mexico Highlands)

     This is the second of three non-conference MTEs the Greyhounds are set to compete in. Karli Bustos' squad will play two matches each day. September 4th will see Eastern take on Northwestern Oklahoma State at 9 a.m. MT and Southeastern Oklahoma State at 4:30 p.m. MT.
     The next day, Eastern will face Western New Mexico at 11:30 a.m. in a match that does not count for Lone Star Conference (LSC) play. After a 7 p.m. match with host New Mexico Highlands, the Hounds head home.

Sept. 11-12: LSC Challenge (at Texas A&M International)

     This season, Eastern New Mexico is grouped with Texas A&M International and Sul Ross State for the LSC Challenge. This also will not count towards the participating teams' conference record. Eastern will face Sul Ross State on September 11th at 5 p.m. MT, then take on Texas A&M International on the 12th at noon MT.

Sept. 18-19: vs. Texas A&M International/Texas A&M-Kingsville

     Eastern opens its home slate and LSC play against Texas A&M International just six days after playing them in Laredo. This match will start off at 6 p.m. MT. Last season, the Hounds won the only matchup these teams had.
     The Javelinas come to Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena on September 19th at 2 p.m. MT. Texas A&M-Kingsville has won four straight meetings with the Greyhounds after Eastern dropped a four-match win streak of its own on the Javelinas. This match will also be Youth Day.

Sept. 25-29: Three-match road trip (@ Texas Woman's/Dallas Baptist/Lubbock Christian)

     It's off to the greater Dallas area for what will be a great litmus test of a weekend. Texas Woman's has given the Greyhounds fits as of recent, taking six of the last seven meetings and eight of the last ten. They meet in Denton, TX on September 25th at 5 p.m. MT.
     The next day, it's into the depths of the city as the Hounds square off with Dallas Baptist. Last season was a shocking departure from the top of the standings in which the Patriots finished 6-11 in league play. Will September 26th be the day Eastern beats DBU for the first time in nearly twelve years? The match itself starts at 1 p.m. MT.
     Lubbock Christian rounds out this road swing. The co-defending regular season LSC champions also own a four-match win streak against its Eastern neighbors to the west. Match time is September 29th at 5 p.m. MT.

Oct. 3-10: Three-match home stand (vs. West Texas A&M/Sul Ross State/Western New Mexico)

     The Wagon Wheel rivalry is a treat to watch across all sports, and the first head-to-head matchup across all sports takes place in volleyball. West Texas has won nine of the last ten matchups between these programs and looks for its ninth consecutive win against the Greyhounds on October 3rd at 2 p.m. MT.
     After that Saturday, the Greyhounds will host two opponents they've seen quite often these last few years. Sul Ross State heads to Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena, looking for its first win in Portales this century. This will be the seventh meeting between the Greyhounds and Lobos in the last three seasons, and will also be Military Night. The match takes place on October 9th at 6 p.m. MT.
     The home stand rounds out with the volleyball edition of the Chile Bowl. The sixth matchup between Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico in three seasons takes place on October 10th at 2 p.m. MT.

Oct. 16-20: Three-match road trip (@ UT Dallas/UT Tyler/Midwestern State)

     The first-ever meeting between the Greyhounds and UT Dallas went the way of the Comets, 3-0. How will ENMU's first trip to Richardson go? It all goes down on October 16th at 5 p.m. MT on the first match of this road swing.
     Eastern finishes off the weekend playing UT Tyler in the Louise Herrington Patriot Center. The Greyhounds have never defeated the Patriots in their programs' histories. Will October 17th be the day? Tune in at 1 p.m. MT.
     The last leg of the road trip will be in Wichita Falls, as Eastern faces Midwestern State. The Mustangs also have a four-match win streak against the Greyhounds, and you would have to look back to October 23rd, 2021 for the last Greyhounds road win against Midwestern State. This match will happen almost five years to the day, starting on October 20th at 5 p.m. MT.

Oct. 23-24: vs. Angelo State/UT Permian Basin

     Eastern New Mexico welcomes the defending conference champions in Angelo State to town. It's been nine years since the Greyhounds have knocked off the Rambelles at home, will this be the match it happens? Find out on October 23rd at 6 p.m. MT on Hispanic Night.so
     About 16 hours after locking horns with the Rambelles, UT Permian Basin swoops into Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. The Falcons are aiming for ten wins in a row against Eastern head-to-head, but not all of their wins have come easy. Two of the last three meetings between these programs have come down to a deciding fifth set. It goes down in Portales on October 24th at 2 p.m. MT as Eastern New Mexico Volleyball celebrates Halloween early.

Oct. 30-31: @ St. Mary's/St. Edward's

     The Greyhounds come marching in to San Antonio on Halloween weekend to do battle with the St. Mary's Rattlers. The Rattlers have won seven straight against the Greyhounds and have won ten out of the last 11. Will the Hounds break the drought? The action starts on October 30th at 5 p.m. MT.
     One day later, it's off to Austin where Eastern takes on St. Edward's. These two programs are 3-3 against each other in their last six contests, how will this Halloween showdown end? First serve is at 1 p.m. MT on the 31st.

Nov. 6-7: vs. Oklahome Christian/Cameron

     Both Oklahoma-based schools will head to Portales as the regular season comes to a close. First, Eastern hosts Oklahoma Christian, one of the stronger volleyball programs in the conference. That will be Senior Night, which will be Greyhound fans' chance to properly celebrate the players moving on from their collegiate lives. First serve for the November 6th matchup is set for 6 p.m. MT.
     The final match of the regular season takes place at home against Cameron. Last year, the Hounds ended their season with a win against Cameron over in Lawton. Can they do it again? Fan Appreciation Day is set for November 7th at 2 p.m. MT.

     All home matches and all matches taking place at an LSC member will be on FloSports. Opening weekend will be broadcast on the MIAA Network, while the Cowgirls Classic will be on the RMAC Network.

Full Schedule (*neutral site)

• August 27: vs. Hastings* (3 p.m. MT, MIAA Network)
• August 28: vs. Regis* (8:30 a.m. MT, MIAA Network)
• August 28: vs. Truman State* (4 p.m. MT, MIAA Network)
• August 29: @ Fort Hays State (11 a.m. MT, MIAA Network)
• September 4: vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State* (9 a.m. MT, RMAC Network)
• September 4: vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State* (4:30 p.m. MT, RMAC Network)
• September 5: vs. Western New Mexico* (11:30 a.m. MT, RMAC Network)
• September 5: @ New Mexico Highlands (7 p.m. MT, RMAC Network)
• September 11: vs. Sul Ross State* (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 12: @ Texas A&M International (12 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 18: vs. Texas A&M International (6 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 19: vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville (2 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 25: @ Texas Woman's (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 26: @ Dallas Baptist (1 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• September 29: @ Lubbock Christian (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 3: vs. West Texas A&M (2 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 9: vs. Sul Ross State (6 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 10: vs. Western New Mexico (2 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 16: @ UT Dallas (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 17: @ UT Tyler (1 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 20: @ Midwestern State (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 23: vs. Angelo State (6 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 24: vs. UT Permian Basin (2 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 30: @ St. Mary's (5 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• October 31: @ St. Edward's (1 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• November 6: vs. Oklahoma Christian (6 p.m. MT, FloSports)
• November 7: vs. Cameron (2 p.m. MT, FloSports)