Tulane Beach Volleyball Announces 2026 Schedule
After a successful 2025 fall campaign, the Tulane beach volleyball program is set for the 2026 spring season with the announcement of the Green Wave schedule as released Monday morning. The slate features eight tournaments with three hosted by Tulane at White Sands Volleyball Courts, which all culminates with the Conference USA Tournament.
“We are thrilled to announce our 2026 Season schedule!” said head coach Eyal Zimet. “It is arguably our most challenging and exciting campaign to date, competing from the west to the east coast and in between versus top-notch programs. Our experienced and super competitive squad is eager to keep getting fire tested, grow, and forge unity throughout our journey to reach our full potential! We can't wait to get after it this year! Roll Wave!”
Schedule Begins Week Before Mardi Gras
The Green Wave hosts the Olive and Blue Scrimmage on February 14 at White Sands as the final tune-up before the season opener. The slate officially kicks off the following weekend with the Green Wave Invitational at White Sands on February 20 and 21. Tulane opens against LSU and also faces Texas A&M Corpus Christi on day one, and day two features three contests against Oregon, South Florida, and New Orleans.
Tulane then hits the road for two tournaments, beginning with the Tiger Beach Challenge hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 27 and 28. The Wave are set to face North Alabama, Houston Christian, UAB, and Southern Mississippi. March opens with the Chanticleer Challenge, hosted by Coastal Carolina on March 6 and 7 in Conway, South Carolina. Tulane’s schedule in the event features Florida Atlantic, Georgia State, Cal Poly, and the host Chanticleers.
Returning home, Tulane hosts the Bayou Beach Duals at White Sands on March 13 and 14. Tulane opponents are scheduled to be Central Arkansas, UTEP, McNeese, Nicholls, and Southeastern Louisiana.
Part Two of 2026 Starts on the West Coast
The second half of the season begins in Malibu, California, with the ASICS Classic, hosted by Pepperdine on March 20 and 21. Tulane’s four matches are set to be against the host Waves, Vanguard, Loyola Marymount, and Concordia University Irvine.
Next up is the Longhorn Showdown, hosted by Texas in Austin on April 3 and 4. Tulane will play four matches against Houston Christian, Texas, Washington, and a fourth opponent yet to be determined. The last away trip is set for April 10 and 11 at the Blazer Beach Bash in Birmingham, Alabama. The Wave will again open against Houstin Christian before facing host UAB, Mercer, and Louisiana Monroe.
The regular season concludes at White Sands with the NOLA Classic on April 17 and 18. Tulane will face Arizona, ULM, New Orleans, Florida International, and Southern Miss.
C-USA Tourney in April
The Conference USA Tournament follows April 23-25 in Youngsville, Louisiana, a suburb of Lafayette. The Green Wave finished as the runner-up in last season’s edition after falling in the championship match as the program aims to take the next step this season. The national championships will take place in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on May 1-3.
Tulane is fresh off a strong fall slate that concluded with a dominating home event in which the Wave won 41 of 42 sets across 21 matches against New Orleans. Tulane was 29-11 last season and 3-3 in the Conference USA Tournament, in which the Wave advanced to the championship match.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.