BRONX – The Monroe University Express men's volleyball team will open the 2026 season competing in the Monroe Mustangs Invitational, at the Monroe Athletic Complex, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The first match of the season will take place on Friday at 9 a.m. against the No. 1 ranked team in the country and the 2025 National Invitational Champion College of DuPage. The Express will compete in four matches during the weekend. Fans can follow the action via live video and live stats which can be found at MonroeExpress.com/Coverage.

The full 2026 schedule, which not only pits Monroe against strong Region 15 competition but against the best teams in the NJCAA as well, can be seen at this link.

This will be the first season in which there will be an NJCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, which will take place at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill. from April 23-25.

The Express will look to win the Region 15 Championship and earn a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament. 

Last season, the Express won its first Region 15 playoff match in program history and earned a berth in the regional semifinals. Monroe also competed in the 2025 National Invitational on the campus of Finger Lakes Community College, up in Canandaigua, N.Y.

The Express have nine returners out of 18 student-athletes on the roster. The other nine are newcomers and seven of them are rookies. The highlight returner for the Express is outside hitter and setter Darren Lopez who made it to the All-Region second team during his first year with Monroe. Last year, he totaled 283 kills, 202 digs, 68 assists, 48 service aces, and 34 blocks during the season. 

The full 2026 Express men's volleyball roster can be seen at this link.

Monroe Head Coach Marien Garcia will return for his second season at the helm for the Express. In his first year with Monroe, he improved the program's win total by nine compared to the inaugural season in 2024. Garcia will be assisted by Jeremy Rivera-Aponte who returns to the program after serving as a star outside hitter for the Blue and Gold during each of the previous two seasons. Also serving as assistant coach is Centryll Scott who enters his first season with Monroe.

For preseason interviews with a few of the Express men's volleyball student-athletes, check out Instagram.com/MonroeExpress. The interview with Coach Garcia can be found here.

For updates throughout the 2026 Express men's volleyball season, check out www.MonroeExpress.com as well as our social media channels. 

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 31 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe University marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.

For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter/X (@MonroeExpress), Instagram (@MonroeExpress), and Threads (@MonroeExpress).