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Wisconsin Badgers volleyball to begin 2026 season with rematch of Final Four loss

The first match of the 2026 Wisconsin Badgers volleyball schedule will be a chance for Kelly Sheffield to avenge the team's Final Four loss this past December.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers outside hitter Mimi Colyer (15) hits the ball during the third set against the Kentucky Wildcats in a 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship semifinal match
Wisconsin Badgers outside hitter Mimi Colyer (15) hits the ball during the third set against the Kentucky Wildcats in a 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship semifinal match | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers will begin the 2026 volleyball season with revenge on their mind.

Kelly Sheffield and his squad will spend all offseason thinking about their 3-2 loss to Kentucky in the Final Four. Then they'll get a shot at instant redemption.

Wisconsin announced Monday that its first game of next season will be against the Wildcats on August 21 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

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It's part of the AVCA First Serve event, that will kick off the college volleyball season for everyone.

It will serve as a showcase of some of the best volleyball teams in the country, featuring eight of the Top 12 ranked teams in the final AVCA poll of 2025.

That includes all four of the 2025 NCAA Championship Semifinalists.

After the Badgers play Kentucky, they will be right back in action the next day against Louisville, who finished last season ranked ninth and lost in the NCAA tournament to eventual champion Texas A&M.

It will be a tough test right out of the gate for Wisconsin, which is going through plenty of roster changes this offseason between graduation and the transfer portal.

Related: Kelly Sheffield identifies key trait that made 2025 Wisconsin volleyball team special

Wisconsin outside hitter Una Vajagic (1) and middle blocker Carter Booth (52) block a shot
Wisconsin outside hitter Una Vajagic (1) and middle blocker Carter Booth (52) block a shot by Illinois middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot (16) during their match Thursday, October 2, 2025 at the UW Field House in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beat Illinois 3-0. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth exhausted their eligibility and Una Vajagic is now at Arizona State.

Sheffield was active on the recruiting front to fill his roster holes, but it's going to take time for his new team to gel and replace the voids left by his departing All-Americans.

They will be thrown into the fire for their first match, but they'll be plenty motivated to make a statement win to start the season.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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