USC Volleyball Schedule 2026

2026 Season Outlook

USC enters its third Big Ten season off a 25-7 campaign that produced a top-three conference finish, an NCAA hosting bid and a fourth straight trip to the tournament's second round. The Trojans open ranked No. 20 nationally and were picked seventh in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. Brad Keller's 2026 group is young - nine of the seventeen players are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores, and twelve are from California or the West - but it returns two Preseason All-Big Ten selections in redshirt senior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina and sophomore opposite Abigail Mullen, who was the youngest player named to the preseason team from any school. The season is 27 matches: ten non-conference, then a true 17-match Big Ten round robin in which USC faces every league opponent exactly once.

Fourteen of those matches are at the Galen Center, an unusually favorable home split.

Program History & Tradition

USC has reached four consecutive NCAA Tournaments under Brad Keller, advancing to the second round in each of the last four years; the 2025 appearance was the program's 41st all-time. That season the Trojans went 25-7 and 15-5 in the Big Ten for a share of third, earned an at-large bid and a hosting bid, swept Princeton in the first round and lost a five-setter to Cal Poly in the second. Home matches are played at the Galen Center on USC's campus at 3400 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles.

Head Coach Spotlight

Brad Keller has built USC into a consistent NCAA Tournament team, reaching the field four years running and the second round in each of them. His 2025 side went 25-7, tied for third in the Big Ten at 15-5 and earned the right to host, and his 2026 roster leans young by design, with nine underclassmen around returning Preseason All-Big Ten picks Adonia Faumuina and Abigail Mullen. His staff includes associate head coaches Matt Jones and Megan Moenoa, assistant coach Blossom Sato, director of operations Julian Welsh-White and technical coordinator Jimmy Kim.

What to Watch in 2026

USC opens at the State Farm Showcase in Sioux Falls against No. 12 Arizona State on FS1 and No. 13 Creighton on BTN the next morning - two ranked opponents in two days on national television before playing a match at home. The September 2 trip to Texas is part of the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Challenge Week on ESPN2. Six straight home matches close non-conference play, including former Pac-12 opponents Arizona, Colorado and Oregon State. In league play the only back-to-back is Ohio State and Penn State on October 16 and 17.

Nebraska in Lincoln on October 24 is the hardest road environment on the schedule, and Wisconsin and Minnesota both come to the Galen Center the following weekend. Senior Day is November 14 against Washington, and the regular season closes at UCLA on November 17 at Pauley Pavilion. The inaugural Big Ten Tournament follows November 20 to 25 in Fishers, Indiana, with every match on BTN.

USC Volleyball 2026 Schedule Overview

Schedule and scores checked October 12, 2026 · Official source: usctrojans.com

The 2026 USC women's volleyball schedule runs 27 matches - ten non-conference and a true 17-match Big Ten round robin in which the Trojans face every league opponent exactly once. Fourteen of those are at the Galen Center. USC opens August 29 at the State Farm Showcase in Sioux Falls against No. 12 Arizona State on FS1, then No. 13 Creighton on BTN the next morning: two ranked opponents in two days, on national television, before playing a match that counts at home. The September 2 trip to Texas is part of the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week and airs on ESPN2, followed by a short trip to San Diego on September 6.

Six straight home matches then close non-conference play, beginning with the September 11 home opener against Arizona and a run of former Pac-12 opponents - Arizona and Colorado, both now Big 12, plus current Pac-12 member Oregon State - before UC Davis, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara. Big Ten play opens on the road at Northwestern and Illinois, then alternates home and away weekends. The only back-to-back league matches all season are Ohio State and Penn State on October 16 and 17. Senior Day is November 14 against Washington, and the regular season closes at UCLA on November 17.

Full dates, Pacific start times, venues and confirmed broadcast are below.