Kentucky volleyball's 2026 SEC schedule has been revealed -- and it's not going to be easy

After a runner-up finish in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky volleyball is looking to get back to the title game once again in 2026 — but the path to get there will be anything but a cakewalk.

The SEC announced conference schedules for the upcoming fall season on Wednesday. Kentucky will play 15 league matches, headlined by a pair of revenge games against Texas A&M, the team that beat the Wildcats in the championship just a few months ago. In total, Kentucky will play 10 SEC matches against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.

That’s not all, though! It was announced on Thursday that Kentucky will also play North Carolina in this year’s SEC/ACC Challenge. That match will take place in Memorial Coliseum and will be broadcast on ESPN on Wednesday, Sept. 9 — just a few days after the ‘Cats take on Penn State at Wrigley Field in one of their two games for the SEC/Big Ten Challenge.

(SEC) booked & busy👏🗓️#WeAreUK x #BBN pic.twitter.com/WQffbXXIRk

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) April 22, 2026

In short, head coach Craig Skinner has put together another hellacious schedule for his Wildcats. It will be filled with ranked opponents and only a handful of “gimmes”. But this tough regular-season experience has paid off in recent years in the form of deep postseason runs. Skinner returns most of his core from last season and should have another preseason top 10 team in Lexington.

Below is the entire 2026 schedule as we know it. The expectation is that in-state rival Louisville will still be added to the non-conference slate at some point.

DATE	OPPONENT
Aug. 23 (AVCA First Serve)	vs. Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
Aug.25 (AVCA First Serve)	vs. Pittsburgh (Milwaukee)
Sept. 2 (SEC/Big Ten Challenge)	vs. UCLA
Sept. 6 (SEC/Big Ten Challenge)	vs. Penn State (Wrigley Field)
Sept. 9 (SEC/ACC Challenge)	vs. North Carolina
Sept. 12 (Paradise Invitational)	vs. SMU (Nassau, Bahamas)
Sept. 13 (Paradise Invitational)	vs. Purdue or Houston (Nassau, Bahamas)
Sept. 23	@ Vanderbilt
Sept. 27	vs. Texas
Oct. 2	@ Auburn
Oct. 4	@ Florida
Oct. 9	vs. LSU
Oct. 11	vs. Ole Miss
Oct. 16	@ Oklahoma
Oct. 18	@ Arkansas
Oct. 21	@ Tennessee
Oct. 25	vs. Texas A&M
Oct. 30	vs. Missouri
Nov. 6	vs. Alabama
Nov. 8	vs. Mississippi State
Nov. 13	@ South Carolina
Nov. 15	@ Georgia

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