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The two teams that earned the only at-large bids to the recent NCAA Tournament will make a cross-country trek to play one of the newest college men’s volleyball teams.
The second-year program Merrimack as part of unveiling its 2024 schedule announced it will play host to Long Beach State on Jan. 17 and Grand Canyon on Jan. 31.
This will be the first time in their program history the Warriors will have non-conference home matches against nationally ranked teams.
Long Beach State defeated Grand Canyon in the opening round to advance to the NCAA Tournament semifinals. The Beach returns four All-American starters, including libero Mason Briggs who spent the offseason playing with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Grand Canyon won a program record 22 matches last season to receive its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. Setter Nicholas Slight also helped guide the Antelopes to the third-best attack percentage in the nation at .344.
Merrimack in its inaugural season finished in sixth place in the NEC and qualified for the conference tournament. In addition, libero Kyle Standage was fourth in the nation with a 2.60 kills per game average en route to earning Freshman All-American honors.
The Warriors will have four non-conference matches in the first month of the season versus teams that were nationally ranked last season.
Along with its two home matches against Long Beach State and Grand Canyon, Merrimack will play both Lewis and Loyola as part of a Midwest road trip.
Merrimack 2024 regular season schedule
Jan. 7 vs. Harvard
Jan. 12 vs. Alliance
Jan. 17 vs. Long Beach State
Jan. 19 at Lewis
Jan. 20 at Loyola
Jan. 26 vs. American International
Jan. 31 vs. Grand Canyon
Feb. 3 at Dominican
Feb. 4 at NJIT
Feb. 9 at Harvard
Feb. 16 vs. D’Youville
Feb. 17 vs. Daemen
March 1 vs. Dominican
March 6 at CSUN
March 15 at American International
March 16 vs. Sacred Heart
March 22 vs. Long Island
March 23 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
March 29 vs. Saint Francis
March 30 vs. Saint Francis
April 5 at Daemen
April 6 at Springfield
April 10 vs. Springfield
April 12 at Long Island
April 13 at Fairleigh Dickinson