Big Ten Announces 2026 Conference Volleyball Schedule
5/28/2026 11:06:00 AM | Volleyball
"This schedule release brings us one step closer to the fall, and with the Big Ten's new balanced format, home-court advantage is everything," Head Coach Adam Hughes said. "We love the unique opportunity to compete in both the Xfinity Center and the Schanwald Pavilion this season. Our goal is to create an incredible atmosphere in both venues, and we're excited to see our fans pack both gyms this fall."
The Terrapins will open their 17-match conference slate with back-to-back road matches, beginning at Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 24, before traveling to Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Maryland returns home to begin October with four consecutive home contests, starting against Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 1, followed by a matchup with Nebraska on Saturday, Oct. 3. The last time Nebraska visited College Park in 2024, Maryland set a single-match attendance record with 13,071 fans at the Xfinity Center.
The Terps continue their home matches by welcoming UCLA on Friday, Oct. 9, before hosting Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Maryland then heads back on the road for matches at Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 16, and Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The Terps return to College Park to face Illinois on Friday, Oct. 23, followed by Michigan State on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Maryland closes October with a West Coast road trip, traveling to Oregon on Friday, Oct. 30, before facing Washington on Sunday, Nov. 1.
The Terps return home for their final three conference home matches, beginning with USC on Thursday, Nov. 5, and Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 7. Maryland will conclude its home conference slate against Penn State on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Last season's matchup against the Nittany Lions went to a thrilling fifth set and drew the second-largest crowd in program history, with 5,093 fans inside the Xfinity Center.
Maryland wraps up the regular season with road matches at Rutgers on Friday, Nov. 13, and Ohio State on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in Columbus.
The Big Ten Conference will usher in a new era of collegiate volleyball this fall with the launch of its inaugural conference tournament, scheduled for Nov. 20-25 at Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball's Indy Ignite. The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament, bringing the nation's premier volleyball programs together in one venue for the first time. Three matches will be played in the opening round of the tournament, followed by four second-round matches. The competition will then progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals, culminating with the championship match slated for November 25. One off day will be built into the tournament schedule. The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament.
Match times and television designations will be announced at a later date.
Maryland returns several key contributors from the 2025 season, including Sydney Bryant, Haley Melby, Eva Rohrbach and Duru Gökçen. The Terps also welcome a highly regarded freshman class ranked No. 16 nationally by Prep Dig, featuring Ava Brown, Raina Chwialkowski, Brooklynne Brass, Marlee Sivak and Elayna Davidson.
The 2026 season officially begins with the Fifth Annual Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on Aug. 3 in Chicago. The upcoming season will also feature the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week, culminating in a doubleheader at Wrigley Field on Sunday, Sept. 6.
Fill out the "TICKET INTEREST FORM" here to indicate your interest and be the first to know when single match tickets go on sale later this summer!2026 Big Ten Schedule
September 24- at Purdue
September 26- at Indiana
October 1- Iowa
October 3- vs. Nebraska
October 9- vs. UCLA
October 10- vs. Northwestern
October 16- at Wisconsin
October 17- at Minnesota
October 23- vs. Illinois
October 25- vs. Michigan State
October 30- at Oregon
November 1- at Washington
November 5- vs. USC
November 7- vs. Michigan
November 11- vs. Penn State
November 13- at Rutgers
November 17- at Ohio State
