Wisconsin volleyball announces 2023 non-conference schedule

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Badger volleyball released their 2023 non-conference schedule, including a match against in-state opponent Marquette at Fiserv Forum.

Wisconsin volleyball announced their nine non-conference matches for the fall, four of which will be at home in the Field House.

Five of Wisconsin’s nine opponents are teams that were ranked in the top 25 of the final 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches’ poll.

“I like the schedule that is in front of us,” Head Wisconsin Volleyball Coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We will be playing teams with styles that are very different from each other. I can see every one of these teams in the NCAA tournament this year.”

To kickoff the non-conference schedule, Wisconsin will host UIC in an exhibition match on August 19, instead of the annual intrasquad scrimmage. A recent NCAA rule change allows teams to compete against another Division I opponent in preseason exhibition play.

Wisconsin’s official season opener is August 25-26 at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Minneapolis. UW and Minnesota represent the Big Ten Conference, facing No. 15 Baylor and TCU from the Big 12 Conference, in back-to-back matches. The Badgers last saw TCU when they swept the Horned Frogs in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Then, the Badgers travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for back-to-back matches against the Razorbacks on August 30 and 31.

”I like that we are adding a home exhibition match against another team instead of an intrasquad scrimmage then opening up the season on the road with two great programs in Baylor and TCU will be a challenge,” Sheffield said. “I also like the back-to-back matches against Arkansas. It’ll be interesting to see the adjustments made against a really good team from one night to the next.”

Wisconsin will then return home for three-straight matches, starting with Tennessee on September 3, followed by Arizona on Sept. 7 and Miami on Sept. 8.

“Our home opener will be against a Tennessee team that has a ton of firepower,” Sheffield said. “And then two more home matches against Arizona and Miami – very good programs with great coaches.”

The Badgers wrap up the final two matches of the non-conference season on the road. First up, it’ll be an in-state battle between Wisconsin and Marquette at Fiserv Forum on September 13. It will be the first NCAA volleyball match at Fiserv Forum and it’ll look to break UW‘s regular-season attendance record set last year against Florida. The Golden Eagles advanced to the Sweep 16 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, where they fell to eventual national champion Texas.

“We go an hour down the road to play Marquette in Fiserv, in a match that we are hoping to get more than the 16,833 fans when we broke the attendance record last season,” Sheffield said.

The non-conference finale is at Florida on September 17. The Gators lost to Pitt, 3-1, in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Madison last season.

Current and new season ticket requests run from May 8-19. All requests must be made online here.

Click here to download the NBC15 News app or our NBC15 First Alert weather app.

Copyright 2023 WMTV. All rights reserved.