Penn State volleyball officially announced its 2026 schedule and it's loaded with big-time matchups

Penn State women's volleyball announced its 2026 schedule, and it's a busy season for the Nittany Lions.

Last year, Penn State hoped to make a second consecutive national championship run. Once now Pittsburgh setter Izzy Stark stepped away from the program, though, those hopes were well out of arm's reach and the Nittany Lions couldn't find their footing. They finished 19-13 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten with an 11-5 home record, 5-6 away record, and 3-2 neutral site record.

Still, the blue and white remain one of the most valuable teams in college volleyball. Their list of invitations for the 2026 season proves that, starting with the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights event to kick off the season. The results from this tournament will not count towards Penn State's, Nebraska's, SMU's, or Florida's records.

The Nittany Lions also face Kentucky in the regular season at Wrigley Field. This event features a doubleheader, which will broadcast Penn State's matchup and the Nebraska vs. Missouri game.

The rest of Penn State's non-conference matchups are against UConn (season opener and home opener), High Point, Hofstra, DePaul, Stanford, Ohio, Villanova, South Florida, and Tennessee.

Kentucky finished second in 2025 as the runner-up, losing to Texas A&M in the national championship game. The Cardinals and Volunteers also placed in the AVCA Top 2025 rankings at No. 7 and No. 24, respectively. In the RPI rankings that determined the NCAA Tournament bracket, Villanova (No. 39), South Florida (No. 46), Hofstra (No. 68), UConn (No. 74), and High Point (No. 85) were all in the top 100.

The Bulls faced Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. While the Nittany Lions won 3-1, South Florida didn't give them an easy time. This tough battle was evidence enough that Penn State didn't have the composure or depth to pull off a championship run.

Michigan kicks off Big Ten play for the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines finished 40th in RPI rankings and beat Xavier in the first round of the tournament. They ultimately fell to Pittsburgh, 3-0 in the second round.

After Michigan State, a team that didn't make it into the tournament but finished 71st in RPI rankings, Penn State and Nebraska face off. The Cornhuskers dominated the 2025 season, including two embarrassing performances from the Nittany Lions. In both regular season matchups, Nebraska swept Penn State.

The rest of the blue and white's schedule is against Iowa, Northwestern, Washington, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, Illinois, and Rutgers. The Bruins, Trojans, Hoosiers, Boilermakers, Golden Gophers, and Badgers all participated in the NCAA Tournament last season. Nebraska and Purdue both made it to the quarterfinals and the Wisconsin took its season to the semifinals.

New Big Ten rules ensured that each team in the conference meets once in the regular season on a home-away rotational basis season-by-season. From Friday, No. 20 to Wednesday, No. 25, the first Big Ten Tournament will take place.

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