The 2024 NCAA Volleyball season is here, and the campaign opens with a bang at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville, Ky., as four of the top nine programs in the nation are set to take the court. The second-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers will kick off the season against No. 9 Kentucky at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2, followed by No. 3 Wisconsin going toe-to-toe with No. 6 Louisville inside the KFC Yum! Center.
It will be a busy opening week for Wisconsin, as the Badgers will face the two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Texas Longhorns on Sunday at the Women's College Volleyball Showcase in Milwaukee with the matching airing live on FOX at 9:30 a.m. PT.
The early-season matchups highlight what may be one of the most highly anticipated seasons in years with several teams and players looking to make their mark on the history books.
Texas will look to become the first program to collect three straight national titles since Penn State won four in a row from 2007-10. The Longhorns will be led by Player of the Year candidate Madisen Skinner, who earned most outstanding player honors in last year’s Final Four. The outside hitter will be seeking her fourth title in five years, having won the championship as a freshman with Kentucky in 2020. UT also features returners in libero Emma Halter, setter Ella Swindle and outside hitter Jenna Wenaas, as well as Kentucky transfer opposite Reagan Rutherford and promising freshman middle blocker Ayden Ames.
Nebraska will look to end the Longhorns’ title runner, as last season’s national runners-up return each starter, including AVCA first-team All-Americans Merritt Beason (outside hitter) and Lexi Rodriguez (libero), second-teamer Bergen Reilly (setter) and third team selection Harper Murray (outside hitter). The Cornhuskers have finished second in two of the last three National Championships and will be seeking their first title since 2017.
Wisconsin advanced to last year’s Final Four and finished with a 30-4 record after falling to the Longhorns in the national semifinals. Led by 2023 AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Franklin, the Badgers return a trio of All-Americans in outside hitter Franklin (first team) and middle blockers Anna Smrek (second team) and third-teamer Carter Booth (third team). Wisconsin has reached the Final Four in each of the last four seasons, winning it all in 2021.
Pitt returns five starters from a squad that appeared in last year’s national semifinals, the third-straight Final Four appearance for the Panthers. First-team AVCA All-American and Freshman of the Year Olivia Babcock highlights a roster that also has first-team All-American setter Rachel Fairbanks and outside hitter Torrey Stafford, a third-team All-America honoree.
Louisville has a strong roster, led by AVCA second-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year Anna DeBeer and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Elena Scott.
West Coast power Stanford prepares for their first season in the Big Ten with two-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year and AVCA first-team All-American Kami Miner and second-team All-American outside hitter Elia Rubin.
Locally, USD opens the season in Hawai'i on Saturday where they face SMU in Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Toreros are led by 2023 All-WCC middle blocker Haylee Stoner and the reigning WCC Freshman of the Year in outside hitter Nemo Beach. Stoner ranked fourth in the WCC in 2023 with 1.03 digs per set and Beach tallied 185 kills (2.64 K/S) with 33.0 total blocks and 36 digs.
San Diego State also begins play on Satruday with a matchup at Idaho State. Taylor Underwood, an opposite who transfered from DePaul ahead of the 2023 season, earned first-team all-Mountain West honors last season after finishing sixth in the league with 3.38 kills and 3.88 points per set against conference foes during the regular season.
UC San Diego is set to host the UC San Diego Invitational beginning on Friday, opening the tournament against Northern Arizona. Senior outside hitter Ava McInnes was been named to the Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Team. Last season, she led the Big West offensively for a majority of the season, finishing second in both kills (3.69 per set) and points (4.39 per set).
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