2021 PENN STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE | SEASON TICKET RENEWALS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's volleyball and head coach Russ Rose announced on Monday the complete 2021 schedule, which includes 10 non-conference matches and a full 20-match Big Ten slate. The schedule features 11 matches against teams that competed in last season's NCAA Tournament.
The Nittany Lions are set to play 13 matches at Rec Hall. Season ticket renewals are now open, while single-match ticket info will be announced at a later date.
Penn State, which is the only program in the nation to compete in all 40 NCAA Division I Tournaments, opens the season at the UCF Tournament, where two of its three opponents are returning national qualifiers. The Lions kick things off against Georgia Tech on Friday, Aug. 27. The Yellow Jackets, who advanced to the NCAA Second Round last season, have a former Penn State great on their staff. Assistant coach Arielle Wilson was a three-time All-American and won four-straight national titles with the Lions from 2007-10.
The Lions also play St. John's (Aug. 27) and the host Knights (Aug. 28) at the UCF Tournament. UCF competed in each of the past three NCAA Tournaments after winning three consecutive American Athletic Conference titles.
For the first time since 2019 Rec Hall will be open to the public for women's volleyball when Penn State hosts three Power Five programs for the Penn State Classic. The Lions host Iowa State on Friday, Sept. 3, and welcome Oregon State and LSU to Happy Valley for matches on Sept. 4.
The Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge returns after a one-year hiatus, setting the Lions up with two tough opponents during a trip to Eugene, Oregon. They play the host Ducks, who advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal last season, on Friday, Sept. 10, and then take on Stanford, on Saturday, Sept. 11. The Cardinal won three of the past five national titles.
Penn State wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a match at West Virginia and a neutral-site contest with Robert Morris on Friday, Sept. 17.
The Lions' Big Ten schedule starts on the road with a match at Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 24, and continues with a home match against Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 26.
The Big Ten matches at Rec Hall this season also include Nebraska (Oct. 8), Northwestern (Oct. 9), Rutgers (Oct. 15), Maryland (Oct. 29), Illinois (Oct. 30), Michigan (Nov. 5), Michigan State (Nov. 6), Minnesota (Nov. 26) and Iowa (Nov. 27).
Other conference road matches are at Maryland (Sept. 29), Indiana (Oct. 2), Purdue (Oct. 17), Minnesota (Oct. 22), Wisconsin (Oct. 23), Michigan (Nov. 12), Michigan State (Nov. 13), Nebraska (Nov. 19) and Ohio State (Nov. 21).
Penn State is one of six Big Ten teams that competed in last season's NCAA Tournament, joining Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin. At least six Big Ten teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 28 consecutive seasons.
