NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team announced the 2026 schedule under second-year head coach Ben Kaszeta Thursday morning.

The Demons will play three non-conference home games starting with the season opener Friday, Aug. 21 in Prather Coliseum against Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. Following the opener, NSU will travel to Carrolton, Georgia for three matches in the West Georgia Tournament the weekend of Aug. 28-29. The Demons will take on West Georgia, Presbyterian and Grambling.

After the trip to Georgia. NSU will battle in-state rival ULM Tuesday, Sept. 1 on the road at 6:30 p.m. in Monroe, Louisiana. Then, the Demons will make the eight-hour drive to Springfield, Missouri to play in the Dr. Mary Jo Lynn Invitational hosted by Missouri State Sept.4-6. NSU will face Indiana State, Little Rock and Missouri State before returning home.

The Demons will stay in state for the next four matches. They will match up with Jackson State for their second home non-conference match on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in Prather Coliseum. Then, NSU will travel to Ruston, Louisiana for three matches in the Bulldog Bash hosted by Louisiana Tech. The Demons will play Thursday, Friday and Saturday Sept. 10-12 against Mississippi Valley State, ULM and another contest against Grambling.

NSU will return to Prather Coliseum for their final non-conference home match the following Tuesday (Sept. 15) against Louisiana Tech at 6:30 p.m. The match will mark the 50^th all-time meeting between the two teams with the Bulldogs leading 26-23.

Following the showdown with Louisiana Tech, the Demons will play their final non-conference games as they compete in the Troy Invitational Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19 in Troy, Alabama. NSU will play Murray State, The Citadel and Troy.

"We tried to go out and find teams that were comparable with us but still going to challenge us," said Kaszeta. "We want to play a mixture of teams that are equal to or better than our conference because we won't get any better if not. We went out and found tournaments in the non-conference to make sure we were getting challenged every weekend so that when we get to conference play, we'll be battle tested."

NSU begins Southland Conference play Thursday, Sept. 24 on the road against Houston Christian at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Saturday game against UIW at 1 p.m.

The Demons' 16-game conference slate features home-and-home matchups with HCU, UIW, UT-Rio Grande Valley, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and East Texas A&M. NSU will play single games at home against Lamar, Southeastern and UNO and road games at Nicholls, McNeese and Stephen F. Austin.