UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State announced its 2026 women’s volleyball schedule on Thursday. The slate is highlighted by non-conference matches at Wrigley Field and The Palestra, an exhibition tournament at AT&T Stadium, and the inaugural Big Ten Tournament at the conclusion of the conference schedule.
The Nittany Lions will see their first live competition of the season when they travel to Arlington, Texas for Spikes Under the Lights, a four-team tournament featuring Penn State, SMU, Florida, and Nebraska. It is a one-day event on Thursday, Aug. 27 at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The team’s official start of the season is just two days later when the team hosts the Penn State Invitational. The Nittany Lions welcome UConn for their home opener on Aug. 29 and then play matches against High Point and Hofstra the following day. UConn was the opponent for Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s first win as Penn State head coach in 2022. High Point played in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons.
Penn State then plays in an iconic stadium for the second time in 10 days as it takes on Kentucky at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, on Sept. 6. The match is a part of the B1G/SEC Challenge. The Nittany Lions and Wildcats play for the third-straight season. Penn State won in 2024 and went on to win the National Championship. Kentucky won in 2025 and later finished as the national runner-up. The Nittany Lions remain in Chicago to play DePaul the following day.
Yet another iconic venue follows the Chicago trip for Penn State. The Nittany Lions welcome Stanford to Pennsylvania when the teams square off at The Palestra in Philadelphia on Sept. 11. The facility is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. Penn State and Stanford will play for the first time since 2022. The teams rank first and second all-time in national titles, with the Cardinal winning nine and the Nittany Lions winning eight. No other team in the nation has won more than five. Both Stanford and Penn State continue the weekend with matches against Ohio University at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions play Ohio on Sept. 12.
Penn State hosts Villanova for a mid-week match at Rec Hall on Sept. 15. The Nittany Lions then wrap up the non-conference schedule with matches against South Florida (Sept. 18) and Tennessee (Sept. 20) as part of the Penn State Classic. Penn State defeated South Florida in four sets in the NCAA First Round last season. The Nittany Lions last played the Volunteers in 2024 when they beat them in four sets in Knoxville.
The Big Ten schedule will look different with the addition of the conference tournament. Penn State will play every team once for a total of 17 matches, including eight at Rec Hall this season. The conference opponents at Rec Hall include Nebraska (Oct. 1), Iowa (Oct. 3), Northwestern (Oct. 9), Washington (Oct. 11), Oregon (Oct. 23), Ohio State (Oct. 29), Purdue (Oct. 31), and Rutgers (Nov. 17).
The first-ever Big Ten Tournament for women’s volleyball will be played at the Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Indiana on Nov. 20-25.
--- The 2026 Penn State women’s volleyball season is presented by Musselman’s.