Kentucky Volleyball Schedule 2026

Kentucky opens the 2026 season on Friday, August 21 against No. 6 Wisconsin at the AVCA First Serve inside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, first serve at 9:00 pm ET on ESPN. The home opener follows a week later, August 28 against Utah State at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Kentucky plays 27 scheduled matches — 12 non-conference and 15 SEC — plus the SEC Tournament in Savannah, Georgia from November 20-24 and the NCAA Tournament in December. The complete slate with dates, times, venues and TV is listed in the schedule table above and updated whenever a time or network is confirmed.

Conference play opens Wednesday, September 23 at Vanderbilt in Nashville, followed by the SEC opening-weekend showdown against Texas at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, September 27. SEC play runs through the regular-season finale at Georgia on November 15.

Eleven regular-season home matches at Historic Memorial Coliseum, plus two August exhibitions with free admission. The home slate includes UCLA, North Carolina, Louisville, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi State on Senior Day.

At Historic Memorial Coliseum on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. Opened in 1950 and renovated for volleyball, it seats roughly 8,500 and is regularly among the loudest and best-attended venues in college volleyball.

Most matches air on SEC Network or stream on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app. Marquee matches, including the August 21 opener against Wisconsin and the September 9 SEC/ACC Challenge against North Carolina, are scheduled for ESPN platforms. Networks are usually confirmed 7-14 days in advance.

SEC Network+ is included at no extra cost if your TV provider carries SEC Network — you sign in through the ESPN app with those credentials. It is not sold separately and is not the same as an ESPN+ subscription.

YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo all carry SEC Network, and each includes the login needed to stream SEC Network+ inside the ESPN app. Select events also appear on ESPN+ as a standalone subscription.

Season and single-match tickets are sold through UKAthletics.com. Season tickets typically go on sale in the spring, with single-match tickets released later in the summer. SEC weekends and the Louisville, Texas and UCLA matches frequently sell out well before first serve.

Single-match prices vary by opponent and seating location, with non-conference matches generally the most affordable and SEC weekends priced higher. Both August exhibitions are free admission. Check UKAthletics.com for current pricing, as the athletics department sets prices by match tier.

Yes. Both 2026 exhibitions at Memorial Coliseum — Ohio on August 8 and Dayton on August 14 — were free admission, with post-match autographs following the Dayton match.

Craig Skinner, who has led the program since 2005. He guided Kentucky to the 2020 NCAA national championship, a run of consecutive SEC regular-season titles and the 2025 national championship match, and is one of the winningest active coaches in the sport.

No. Kentucky reached the national championship match at the Final Four in Kansas City and finished as national runner-up, losing the title match to Texas A&M. The Wildcats return most of that roster in 2026.

Yes — Kentucky won the NCAA Division I national championship in the 2020-21 season, defeating Texas in the final in Omaha. It remains the program's only national title and the first NCAA volleyball championship won by an SEC school.

Senior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, junior opposite Morgan Gaerte, sophomore setter Kassie O'Brien, senior libero Molly Tuozzo and redshirt junior middle blocker Lizzie Carr were all named Preseason All-SEC. DeLeye, Gaerte, O'Brien and Tuozzo are on the AVCA National Player of the Year watch list — the most of any program in the country.

Opposite hitter Morgan Gaerte arrived from Notre Dame, where she earned First Team All-ACC honors in 2025 while averaging 4.64 kills per set. She gives Kentucky a genuine right-side terminator alongside DeLeye and is a central reason the Wildcats are the preseason SEC favorite.

Kentucky enters the season ranked No. 3 nationally and was picked by SEC coaches to win the conference. The Wildcats open against No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 4 Pittsburgh, making it one of the toughest opening weekends any team in the country faces.

Kentucky competes in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC plays a 15-match single round-robin conference schedule, followed by the SEC Tournament, whose champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

November 20-24 at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia — the second consecutive year Savannah hosts. Opening-round matches begin Friday, November 20 and the championship match is Tuesday, November 24 at 7:00 pm ET.

Louisville is the in-state rivalry that fills Memorial Coliseum, Florida is the longest-running SEC rivalry, and Texas A&M has become the most consequential opponent after ending Kentucky's 2025 season in the national championship match. Kentucky hosts all three storylines in different forms this season.

Sunday, November 8 at 1:00 pm ET against Mississippi State at Memorial Coliseum, the final home match of the regular season. Senior Day ceremonies typically take place before first serve, so arrive early.

Parking is free on home match nights in the Kroger Field structure, a short walk from Memorial Coliseum. Doors typically open one hour before first serve; confirm gate times on the UK Athletics event page for high-demand SEC matches.