Volleyball On SI

Big Ten Volleyball Matches to Watch on Opening Weekend

Here are key Big Ten non-conference matchups to watch during opening weekend.

Nicole Reitz

Wisconsin begins in the season ranked No. 6 in the AVCA poll.
Wisconsin begins in the season ranked No. 6 in the AVCA poll. / Wisconsin Athletics

College volleyball is officially back, and the Big Ten Conference is gearing up for another headline season. Eight teams from the conference make up the AVCA preseason top 25, and four are in the top 10, with Nebraska landing in the No. 1 spot.  

The 2026 season will also be a milestone year for the conference, as the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament will be held in November.

The race begins now. Here are key non-conference matchups to watch during opening weekend. 

Wisconsin Badgers 

Hot off a seventh Final Four appearance, the Badgers land at No.6 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. They head to the Jeep AVCA First Serve Tournament in Milwaukee and will hit the ground running with a tough slate against No.3 Kentucky and No.7 Louisville.

Both matches will be nationally televised, with Friday's match against Kentucky airing on ESPN and Saturday's match against Louisville airing on Fox. 

With AVCA Player of the Year Watch List selections Charlie Fuerbringer and Jaela Auguste back, plus freshmen Audrey Flanagan and Anna Bardaro making their debut, the Badgers are starting the season with a national championship mindset. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers 

The No.1 Cornhuskers are on a quest for their seventh Big Ten title. Fresh off a 20-0 record in conference play and an overall record of 33-1 last season, they won’t officially begin the season until Aug. 27 at the Spikes Under the Lights Showcase. 

Nebraska will face Florida, and Penn State will take on SMU as these four powerhouse programs compete for a $1 million prize pool, the largest money award ever in women’s college sports. 

With the senior trio of Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, going nearly undefeated again isn’t out of the question. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers 

The No. 14 Gophers head into the 2026 season after making the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2022 season. They’ll begin on the road and face Big 12 foe Iowa State at the Hilton Coliseum for one last exhibition match. 

Sophomore Carly Gilk was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, while fifth-year outside hitter Mckenna Wucherer is back to take the Gophers a step further. 

Northwestern Wildcats 

The Wildcats host city rival Loyola, but this exhibition matchup could be a test of their new offense.

A preseason matchup full of blocking errors against Milwaukee cost them. Still, with veteran Campbell Paris leading the way, hopefully Northwestern can lock in before regular-season play begins against George Mason on Aug. 28. 

Purdue Boilermakers

Coming off arguably its best season in program history behind a program-record five All-Big Ten First Team honorees, the No. 9 Boilermakers won’t officially begin their season for another week on Aug. 28 against Creighton.

For now, they’ll finish out their slate of exhibition games against in-state rivals on Friday against Butler. 

Taylor Anderson, Grave Heaney and Kenna Wollard were tabbed 2026 AVCA Player of the Year Watch List honorees and preseason All-Big Ten. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018. Her work has been published in various publications like Softball On SI, Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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