MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Head volleyball coach Caitlyn Moriarty has released the 2026 schedule for the defending SAA Tournament Champions as the Vikings look to continue their success from last year's NCAA Final Four run.

The Vikings overcame some troubles last season as they finished in third place in the SAA before going on a run for the ages as they first won the SAA Tournament Championship for the fifth straight year before going on to win the Viriginia Wesleyan Regional on the way to their second Final Four appearance. The Vikings would upset top seed and undefeated East Texas Baptist 3-1 before falling to eventual runner up LaVerne in a five set thriller. The Vikings will look to build off that performance from last year as they return AVCA Freshman of the Year Ava Brovet, AVCA First Team All-American Madie Whitehead and All-SAA Honorable Mention recipient Keira Kruk to join a top crop of newcomers.

The Vikings will begin their season with a scrimmage on August 31 against Shorter University before hitting the road for two tournaments, the Scranton Invite from September 5-6 where they will place Scranton, Ithaca and Tufts in Scranton, PA and the Transy Invite from September 11-12 where they will play Asbury, Transylvania and Saint Benedict in Lexington, KY. The Vikings then return home for the Berry Invite from September 18-19 as they take on SAA opponent Oglethorpe as well as Emory and Randolph-Macon. The Vikings then begin conference play on the road with each school hosting a pod where they will take on and host several teams for two days. 

First up they will head to San Antonio, TX to take on defending SAA Regular Season Champion Trinity on September 25 and Southwestern on September 26. The Vikings then have a nonconference matchup at Covenant on September 29 before hosting the Berry pod from October 2-3 where they will host Centre, Sewanne and Maryville for Mountain Day and Alumni Day. The Vikings will then head a short distance down the road to Atlanta for the Oglethorpe pod from October 9-11 where they will take on Rhodes, Millsaps and Oglethorpe. Next up the Vikings head to Danville, KY for the Centre pod where they will take on Centre, Maryvill and Sewanne. The Vikings then wrap up SAA play in Memphis, TN from October 31-November 1 for the Rhodes pod where they will take on Rhodes and Millsaps.

The Vikings then return to Georgia for the Emory Invite on November 6 for two games against Emory and Washington and Lee before heading home for Senior Day as they host Huntingdon on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 PM. The SAA Championships this year will take place from November 12-14 at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. The NCAA Regionals are set for November 19-21 and the final Championship site this year will be in Pittsburgh, PA from December 2-5.