The defending champions will be back on the court sooner rather than later, folks.

After Penn State women’s volleyball released its Big Ten schedule earlier today, it released its schedule for the 2025 season Wednesday afternoon. The Nittany Lions will play in two tournaments in their 30-game schedule, which is set to kick off on Saturday, August 23.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘

16 matches against 2024 NCAA Tournament teams
8 matches against 2024 conference champs
23 matches against 2024 RPI top 100 teams#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Fs4uuhG0f5

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) May 28, 2025

Penn State will open its season by participating in the AVCA First Serve event in Lincoln, Nebraska, where it will take on Creighton on August 23 in a rematch of last year’s Regional Final before facing Kansas two days later. The Nittany Lions will then play in the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase in Pittsburgh on Labor Day weekend, where they will take on Arizona State and TCU. After that, the defending champions will open up their season at Rec Hall on Tuesday, September 5, against Kentucky.

This match is the beginning of a nine-match homestand for the Nittany Lions from Tuesday, September 5, to Friday, October 3. Penn State will also host New Hampshire, Bucknell, Pitt, Princeton, Central Michigan, USC, UCLA, and Nebraska during this stretch. The Nittany Lions begin their conference schedule against USC on Friday, September 26, before hosting Big Ten opponents UCLA and Nebraska to close out the homestand.

Penn State will then play its first road match against Maryland on Sunday, October 5, before heading back home to play Wisconsin and Northwestern. It will head west to take on Washington on Friday, October 17, and Oregon the following day. After going west, the Nittany Lions will play Rutgers at home before facing a two-game road stretch against Ohio State and Michigan.

Penn State will play Indiana at home on Sunday, November 2, before it goes on a three-game road trip to take on Purdue, Illinois, and Minnesota. The Nittany Lions will play a three-game homestand against the Buckeyes, Spartans, and Terrapins before matches on the road against Nebraska on Friday, November 28, and Iowa the following day, to close out the regular season.

Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and her team will look to repeat as national champions, as they went 35-2 and brought home their eighth national title last year. Despite losing key pieces from last year, such as Jess Mruzik, Camryn Hannah, and Taylor Trammell, the Nittany Lions will have a reloaded roster this season as they added transfers such as Emmi Sellman and Kennedy Martin.