The reigning national champion University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team will open its title defense with a two-match series against Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 5 and 7 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

UH released its 27-match 2022 schedule on Wednesday and the Warriors will play 16 home matches before playing host to the Big West tournament on April 21-23. The home slate includes two matches with Lewis in the Outrigger Challenge on March 10 and 12. The Flyers reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals in May, falling to BYU in four sets.

The nonconference schedule also includes home series with two first-year programs in Edward Waters University and Long Island University. The Warriors will have an early-season road trip to Ball State, then head to Austin, Texas, to play in the First Point Challenge, where they’ll face Queens, Stanford and second-year program Kentucky State.

The Warriors open the Big West season with a series at UC San Diego on March 2 and 4.

The Warriors will play host to Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara in the Big West season, with road series at UC San Diego, Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

The NCAA Tournament will be hosted by UCLA and is set for May 5-7.