Volleyball set to kick off 2026 season by hosting Raider Invitational

Friday, August 28

Dayton, OH

6 PM

Wright State University

Santa Clara

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Volleyball set to kick off 2026 season by hosting Raider Invitational

8/27/2026 5:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

DAYTON – The Wright State volleyball program is set to kick off its 2026 season this weekend by hosting the Raider Invitational in the Nutter Center Main Area.

Alongside the Raiders' three collegiate games against Santa Clara, Eastern Illinois, and Marquette, Wright State will play host to nine high school matches. Bellbrook, Centerville, and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA) will take part in a round-robin format on Saturday, August 29, with the varsity matches taking place in the Nutter Center Main Arena and the junior varsity matches taking place in McLin Gym. For full tournament info, please click here.

TICKET INFO
Season tickets for all Wright State 2026 home games are on sale now and include tickets to all matches in the Nutter Center. While fans can purchase tickets to the Raider Invitational in a variety of options - all session passes, courtside seats, reserved seats, and general admission seats. Click here to purchase Raider Invitational tickets.

Saturday's Day Two tickets are $10 for the day and provide access to every match in both gyms. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, with no additional surcharge for advance purchases.

MATCH INFORMATION
Friday, August 28 – vs. Santa Clara – 6 p.m. - FOLLOW LIVE STATS
Saturday, August 29 – vs. Eastern Illinois – 1 p.m. - FOLLOW LIVE STATS
Saturday, August 29 – vs. Marquette – 7 p.m. – WATCH (ESPN+) | FOLLOW LIVE STATS

KNOW THE FOES
Santa Clara
The Broncos finished 2025 with a 17-12 overall record and a 12-6 mark in West Coast Conference play. Friday night will mark the first all-time meeting between the Raiders and the Broncos.

Eastern Illinois
The Panthers had a stellar 2025 season, finishing with a 24-8 overall record and a 15-3 conference record en route to an Ohio Valley tournament championship and an NCAA tournament appearance. Saturday afternoon will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the Raiders and Panthers, a series the Raiders lead 11-7.

Marquette
The Golden Eagles finished 2025 with an 18-11 overall record and an 11-5 mark in Big East play. Marquette made its way into the NCAA tournament thanks to an at-large bid, defeating Western Kentucky in the opening round before falling to No. 9 Louisville. The Golden Eagles opened their 2026 campaign Monday night in Milwaukee against No. 2 Texas, falling 2-3. Saturday marks the sixth all-time meeting between Wright State and Marquette, a series the Raiders lead 3-2.

DEFENDING THE HORIZON
Wright State was picked first in the Horizon League's preseason poll, tallying 117 points. The Raiders have been selected at the top of the preseason poll in six of the last seven seasons dating back to the COVID-altered Spring 2021 campaign.

ALL-LEAGUE RETURNEES
The reigning Horizon League champions return four All-League award winners from a season ago, led by a pair of first teamers in Lauren Yacobucci and Reilly Zegunis. Returning alongside Yacobucci and Zegunis are a pair of All-League Second Team selections in Mya Ayro and Katie Sowko. This marked the second-straight first-team honors for Yacobucci and Zegunis, while Sowko adds the second-team recognition to her All-Freshman nod from a season ago.

IN CASE YOU FORGOT…
Wright State finished 2025 with a 21-11 overall record en route to its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last seven seasons. The Raiders have five Horizon League regular season titles in that span, adding HL tournament titles to their resumes in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2025 for automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, along with their 2019 at-large selection. The five NCAA appearances in the last seven seasons are the only tourney appearances in program history.

SIZING UP THE 2026 SQUAD
Wright State welcomes four newcomers – including three freshmen – to this season's roster. The Raiders' 16-player roster includes three freshmen, five sophomores, three juniors, four seniors, and one graduate student.

UP NEXT
Following the Raider Invitational, Wright State will host a total of six games as part of the 2026 Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational, with all four opponents facing each other in a round robin format. Action gets underway on Thursday, September 3, with a neutral site match when Ball State and Western Kentucky face off at 6 p.m. Friday begins with another neutral site match between Dayton and Ball State, followed by Wright State and Western Kentucky facing off at 6 p.m. Match play continues Saturday with Western Kentucky facing Dayton at 1 p.m. before Wright State meets Ball State at 4 p.m. The excitement culminates on Sunday, with a crosstown rivalry matchup between Wright State and Dayton at 1 p.m.