Penn State women's volleyball was givn the opportunity to represent women's sports on a national stage in the first Spikes Under the Lights primetime event.
The Nittany Lions will join three other major college volleyball programs, Nebraska, SMU, and Florida, in the three-hour event. The four teams will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. where the Dallas Cowboys play at home.
All teams will participate in a semifinal matchup and the winners of those matches will play in a championship game. The contests are set up as a best-of-three, meaning teams need to win two-of-three sets in the match. This is different from traditional collegiate matches, which are played in a best-of-five format. The results of the event will not impact the teams' regular season records.
In addition to playing on a huge, national stage, there is a $1 million prize that goes towards NIL. This is the largest amount ever provided in women's college sports. A portion of the pot will be distributed evenly between the four teams, each receiving $200,000. The leftover $200,000 will be awarded to the champion of the event.
Broadcast and ticket details of the event have not been released.
Penn State and Nebraska are familiar foes in the Big Ten. In 2026, the teams will face each other at Rec Hall in Happy Valley. The following regular season in 2027, the Nittany Lions head to Cornhusker territory. This rotational home-away schedule every season was implemented by the Big Ten at the beginning of May.
Hey @PSUwRECkingCrew, get prepared!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/QBSXyDGfvd
— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) May 4, 2026
In 2025, Nebraska swept Penn State twice. In early October, the Cornhuskers beat the Nittany Lions in three sets at Rec Hall then followed it with another sweep in Lincoln, Neb. in November. This final matchup between the two secured Nebraska's Big Ten title for 2025. However, its undefeated season was upset by Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament Semifinal match. The Aggies then beat Kentucky in the championship game. Penn State's dull season finished in the second round of the tournament, falling to Texas in early December.
SMU and Florida are also recurring tournament teams. In 2025, the Mustangs were the No. 2 seed of Pittsburgh's regional site. They swept Central Arkansas in the first round. The Gators, an unseeded team of the same site, swept No. 7 Rice in the first round. SMU and Florida faced each other in the second round, ultimately ending in a 3-0 sweep by the Mustangs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google