Examining Penn State Volleyball’s 2024 Big Ten Matchups

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Back in February, the Big Ten released the opponent breakdowns for all 18 volleyball programs ahead of the 2024 season, which will welcome Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA to the conference.

Although the dates, times, and TV listings have yet to be announced, the Big Ten shared the details of which schools Penn State and the rest of the conference will play both home and away (three teams apiece), which seven teams they will play only at home, and which seven teams they will play only away during the 20-match schedule.

Tough Trip to UW Field House in 2024

After finishing its 2023 season in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, bowing out in Madison, Wisconsin, following losses to the Badgers both times, Penn State’s most difficult away match of the 2024 conference slate is easily the team’s upcoming trip to the UW Field House.

The Nittany Lions have reached the regional semifinals in 20 of the last 21 seasons and are the only program to qualify for all 43 NCAA tournaments since its inception in 1981, but if they want to win their first national championship since 2014 and eighth overall, they will have to beat teams like the Badgers in the postseason. Penn State downed then-No. 2 Wisconsin in four sets last November in Rec Hall and still leads the all-time series 50-15.

Wisconsin recently announced that its spring exhibition on April 19 against University of Illinois Chicago, a program where Schumacher-Cawley spent 14 seasons (2003-16) on staff, including the final eight as head coach of the Flames, is sold out. It’s always a raucous environment when the Nittany Lions come to town given the back-and-forth nature of the series in recent years.

“I learned so much there, from being a graduate assistant to an assistant coach to a head coach,” Schumacher-Cawley said of her time at UIC. “Don August was a long-time coach there. He gave me my first start, so I learned a lot from him. Even though it’s considered mid-major, I learned a lot, whether in the gym, office, or working with people. He gave me a great deal of support and guidance.”

Indiana and USC Headline Remainder of Away-Only Schedule

Schumacher-Cawley went 49-17 during her first two seasons as head coach of her alma mater and will go for win No. 50 in the 2024 opener, which has yet to be officially announced. Looking at the rest of Penn State’s away-only opponents, Indiana (11-9 Big Ten) and USC (12-8 Pac-12) are the only programs that finished with a winning record in conference play last season. UCLA went 10-10 during its final Pac-12 campaign before the conference disbanded.

PSU to Visit USC and UCLA; Oregon and Washington will visit Rec Hall

This fall, the Nittany Lions will travel to Los Angeles for matches against the Trojans and Bruins, where there is a particularly strong Penn State alumni base, while fellow West Coast imports Oregon and Washington, which went 16-4 and 7-13 in conference action last season, respectively, are scheduled to visit Rec Hall.

The Ducks lost to Wisconsin in four sets in the Elite Eight last year, as the Madison regional featured four current Big Ten teams (Oregon swept Purdue in the other semifinal matchup).

The Nittany Lions will face Purdue, Maryland, and Michigan State twice this fall, hoping to avenge a pair of losses to the Boilermakers in 2023 and their first loss to the Spartans since September 27, 2013. Michigan State beat the Nittany Lions in five sets on October 28 in East Lansing.

PSU Won’t Visit Nebraska, Minnesota or Illinois

Notably, Penn State does not have to travel to Nebraska, Minnesota, or Illinois this season, hosting them at Rec Hall rather than playing in three of the more difficult atmospheres in the conference. The Nittany Lions led then-No. 1 Nebraska 2-0 before narrowly losing in five sets at home in front of a sold-out crowd last November.

After going down 8-3 in the fifth set, Penn State rallied to tie it at 9-all and eventually 13-all before dropping the final two points. The Huskers have won seven-consecutive matches in the series and lead Penn State 27-11.

It was the best home crowd Rec Hall had seen for a women’s volleyball match in several years and an indicator of what that kind of energy can do for the Nittany Lions, especially in big, historically charged contests. There is no reason Penn State women’s volleyball shouldn’t sell out every home match (or come close to it) given the legacy of success tied to the program. The 2024 season could mark a positive shift in that direction.

B1G Schedule is Relentless

“I think that there is no match where you feel like you can kind of catch your breath on,” Schumacher-Cawley said of the Big Ten last November. “You have to be focused and ready to go.”