SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's volleyball has announced its 2026 schedule, featuring four early-season tournaments, 13 River States Conference matches and the return of the Showdown in the Woods presented by the Terre Haute Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Pomeroys will open regular-season competition at the Huntington Invitational on Aug. 14-15. SMWC will face Wilberforce University and Indiana University South Bend on Friday, Aug. 14, before meeting Madonna University and host Huntington University on Saturday, Aug. 15.

SMWC will continue tournament play at the Mount Mary Invitational in Milwaukee on Aug. 21-22. The Pomeroys will face Goshen College, Judson University, Mount Mary University and Missouri Valley College during the two-day event.

The Pomeroys will then return home to host the Showdown in the Woods presented by the Terre Haute Convention & Visitors Bureau from Aug. 28-30 inside the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.

The three-day event will feature six matches for SMWC. The Pomeroys will face Johnson University Tennessee and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Aug. 28, Mount Mary University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Aug. 29, and Alice Lloyd College and Wright State Lake University on Aug. 30.

SMWC will close its early-season tournament schedule at the Labor Day Bear Invitational in Cleveland, Georgia, on Sept. 4-5. The Pomeroys are scheduled to meet Milligan University, Rust College and Piedmont University before playing a final opponent to be determined.

River States Conference play begins with a three-match homestand inside the Knoerle Center. SMWC will host the University of Rio Grande for its conference opener and White Out match at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11.

The Pomeroys will then welcome West Virginia University Institute of Technology at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, before hosting Indiana University Kokomo for a Blue Out match at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Following a nonconference home match against Calumet College of St. Joseph on Sept. 18 and a tri-match against Kansas Wesleyan University and Governors State University on Sept. 19, SMWC will resume conference play at Brescia University on Sept. 25.

Other nonconference highlights include a Sept. 29 road match at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, an Oct. 14 contest at Franklin College and an Oct. 31 doubleheader at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Homecoming Weekend will feature a pair of important RSC matches. The Pomeroys will host Indiana University Columbus for their Pink Out match at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, before facing Indiana University Southeast at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3.

SMWC will then travel to Midway University and Indiana University East on Oct. 9-10 before returning home to host Kentucky Christian University for Youth Night at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16.

The Pomeroys will close the month with conference road matches at IU Columbus on Oct. 23, IU Southeast on Oct. 24 and IU Kokomo on Oct. 27.

SMWC will conclude the regular-season home schedule against Brescia at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6. The match will serve as Senior Night.

The River States Conference Tournament is scheduled to begin with quarterfinal matches Tuesday, Nov. 10. The top eight teams in the conference standings will qualify, with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal matches. The tournament semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 13-14 at the home of the conference's No. 1 seed.

SMWC enters the 2026 season following one of the most successful campaigns in program history. The Pomeroys finished the 2025 season with a 30-6 record, earned the No. 2 seed in the RSC Tournament and advanced to the conference semifinals.

The Pomeroys have recorded 116 victories over the past four seasons, tying for the seventh-most wins among NAIA programs during that span.

SMWC also returns outside hitter Karla Melendez Martinez, who became the second female NAIA All-American in College history and the fourth NAIA All-American overall after earning third-team recognition in 2025.

Melendez was also named the Mid-South Region Player of the Year and River States Conference Player of the Year. She earned NAIA All-Region First Team and First Team All-RSC honors following her record-breaking junior season.