University Southern California Trojans
Big Ten Announces Inaugural Volleyball Tournament
April 16, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
15 of the league’s teams will play for the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA championship in a late-November tournament
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the inaugural B1G Volleyball Tournament set to be played Nov. 20-25, 2026, at the Fishers Event Center—home of Major League Volleyball's Indy Ignite—in Fishers, Ind., on Thursday, April 16.
"For the first time in its history, the Big Ten Conference will determine its volleyball champion with a postseason tournament featuring the best volleyball teams in the country," said Commissioner Tony Petitti. "We look forward to bringing the nation's top talent together for an entire week of exhilarating competition culminating in the crowning of the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament Champion."
The tournament will bring 15 of the league's 18 teams together for a five-day, five-round, tournament to determine one winner, which will be awarded the Big Ten's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. As a result of the inclusion of the tournament weekend, the Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single round-robin format. Television distribution and ticket information will be announced later. Fans can sign up to be the first to learn about tickets and other tournament information here.
The top four seeds in the regular-season standings will each receive byes directly into the quarterfinal round set for Sunday, Nov. 22. The four semifinalists will meet in two matches on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and the championship match is set for Wednesday, Nov. 25; the evening before Thanksgiving Day.
Play begins with three first-round matches on Friday, Nov. 20, in which the 10 through 15 seeds will play. Four second-round matches are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21. The three teams that advance out of the first round will be pitted against the fifth, sixth, and seventh seeds. The eighth and ninth seeds will face each other. The four advancing teams then meet the top four seeds in the quarterfinals.
Big Ten volleyball has long represented the premier collection of programs in the sport, with current conference schools combining for 22 NCAA Division I Championships, including winning 12 of the last 20. Eight of the nine most-watched college volleyball matches of all time have featured Big Ten teams, and six different Big Ten regular-season matches last season earned an audience of more than 500,000 on three different networks.
Last fall, USC finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten. The Trojans were 25-7 overall with a 15-5 record in the Big Ten and were awarded one of 33 at-large berths—and a hosting bid—into the 2025 NCAA tournament. USC made its fourth straight appearance in the tourney under head coach Brad Keller (41st all-time) and moved into the second round for the fourth consecutive year with a 3-0 sweep of Princeton. The Women of Troy were eliminated from postseason play in a hard-fought five-set loss to Cal Poly in the second round.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
"For the first time in its history, the Big Ten Conference will determine its volleyball champion with a postseason tournament featuring the best volleyball teams in the country," said Commissioner Tony Petitti. "We look forward to bringing the nation's top talent together for an entire week of exhilarating competition culminating in the crowning of the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament Champion."
The tournament will bring 15 of the league's 18 teams together for a five-day, five-round, tournament to determine one winner, which will be awarded the Big Ten's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. As a result of the inclusion of the tournament weekend, the Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single round-robin format. Television distribution and ticket information will be announced later. Fans can sign up to be the first to learn about tickets and other tournament information here.
The top four seeds in the regular-season standings will each receive byes directly into the quarterfinal round set for Sunday, Nov. 22. The four semifinalists will meet in two matches on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and the championship match is set for Wednesday, Nov. 25; the evening before Thanksgiving Day.
Play begins with three first-round matches on Friday, Nov. 20, in which the 10 through 15 seeds will play. Four second-round matches are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21. The three teams that advance out of the first round will be pitted against the fifth, sixth, and seventh seeds. The eighth and ninth seeds will face each other. The four advancing teams then meet the top four seeds in the quarterfinals.
Big Ten volleyball has long represented the premier collection of programs in the sport, with current conference schools combining for 22 NCAA Division I Championships, including winning 12 of the last 20. Eight of the nine most-watched college volleyball matches of all time have featured Big Ten teams, and six different Big Ten regular-season matches last season earned an audience of more than 500,000 on three different networks.
Last fall, USC finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten. The Trojans were 25-7 overall with a 15-5 record in the Big Ten and were awarded one of 33 at-large berths—and a hosting bid—into the 2025 NCAA tournament. USC made its fourth straight appearance in the tourney under head coach Brad Keller (41st all-time) and moved into the second round for the fourth consecutive year with a 3-0 sweep of Princeton. The Women of Troy were eliminated from postseason play in a hard-fought five-set loss to Cal Poly in the second round.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
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