Sports
Kentucky volleyball’s 2025 non-conference schedule will include entire 2024 Final Four
After leading his squad to the Elite Eight last season, Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner has put together another challenging schedule in hopes of making an even deeper run in 2025. The program released its non-conference schedule for the upcoming season earlier this week, and it’s loaded with some of the sport’s best teams. […]

After leading his squad to the Elite Eight last season, Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner has put together another challenging schedule in hopes of making an even deeper run in 2025.
The program released its non-conference schedule for the upcoming season earlier this week, and it’s loaded with some of the sport’s best teams. All four of last season’s Final Four contenders make up Kentucky’s 10-game non-conference slate for the 2025 campaign. That includes Pittsburgh, which beat the Wildcats in the Elite Eight back in December, along with Louisville, Penn State, and Nebraska. Penn State went on to win the national title over Louisville.
Kentucky will face Penn State and Louisville on the road, while the matchups with Pitt and Nebraska will take place in neutral settings at Fort Worth (TX) and Nashville (TN), respectively. The likes of Washington, SMU, and New Hampshire — all NCAA Tournament teams in 2024 — are also on the Wildcats’ non-conference schedule. UK will host Ohio State for its lone exhibition.
This kind of difficulty isn’t anything new to Skinner, though. Kentucky faced a similarly tough slate of non-conference foes last season. It paid off in the long run.
UK battled the likes of Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Louisville, and Stanford prior to SEC action, teams all ranked among the nation’s top 10 at the time. The ‘Cats actually lost all of those games, but the early challenges allowed Skinner’s team to find a groove and post a 14-2 record in the SEC, secure another league championship, and earn a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. UK finished with an overall record of 23-8.
Kentucky’s SEC schedule was released last month, and like most of the non-conference schedule, times and TV assignments will be announced later this summer.
Kentucky Volleyball 2025 Non-Conference Schedule
DATE | OPPONENT |
August 23rd (EXH) | Ohio State |
August 30th | @ Lipscomb |
August 31st | vs. Nebraska | Noon ET on ABC (Nashville, TN) |
September 5th | @ Penn State |
September 6th | vs. New Hampshire (State College, PA) |
September 10th | vs. Pittsburgh | 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (Fort Worth, TX) |
September 13th | vs. SMU |
September 14th | vs. Houston |
September 18th | @ Louisville |
September 20th | vs. Washington |