USC women’s volleyball announces 2024 schedule ahead of first season in Big Ten (2024)

With the Pac-12 ceasing to exist in its current capacity, USC women’s volleyball fans will get to see new — and some old — conference foes visit Galen Center this year.

The Trojans are set to play each of the current Big Ten members once, either at home or on the road, and will face UCLA, Oregon and Washington — the other three incoming schools from the Pac-12 along with USC — twice in a home-and-home format. Last year, USC swept the season series against the Huskies, split the series with the Bruins and lost the lone matchup to the Ducks that took place in Eugene.

Before USC gets to experience the Big Ten, the Trojans open their season on the road with two matchups on Aug. 30 and 31 against Pepperdine. USC then will take part in the Creighton Classic during the first week of September, where they will take on host Creighton before squaring off against Kansas State the night after. USC then takes on Pittsburgh on Sept. 11 for the Trojans’ first home match of the season. Last year, Pitt beat USC 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to bring the Trojans’ season to a close.

Immediately following the Pitt matchup, the Trojans host Utah State and Ohio in mid-September for the SoCal Cup I. The following weekend, USC hosts the SoCal Cup II, where the Trojans will face LMU, UC San Diego and UNLV on back-to-back-to-back nights to close out their non-conference slate.

USC’s first match against a Big Ten opponent will take place at Galen Center on Sept. 27 against Ohio State. Two days later, the Trojans travel to Lincoln to face defending national runner-up Nebraska to close out September. The first week of October, USC welcomes Michigan and Minnesota to Galen in back-to-back games. USC then will face Oregon and UCLA for the first of two meetings, with the Trojans traveling to Eugene to face the Ducks on Oct. 9 before quickly returning home to host the rival Bruins four days later.

The Trojans then make their furthest road trip of the season, as they travel all the way to the East Coast to take on Maryland on Oct. 18 and Rutgers on Oct. 20. USC then hosts Michigan State and Penn State the following week, before closing out October on the road in their second of two matchups against UCLA on the 31st, this time in Westwood.

Three days after the second Crosstown Showdown, USC welcomes Washington to L.A. for its first matchup against the Huskies. The next weekend, USC travels to face Illinois — whom the Trojans beat 3-2 last year in West Lafayette — on Nov. 8 before facing Indiana the following night. The Trojans then host Wisconsin at Galen Center before Oregon comes to L.A. for its second date with the Trojans. After hosting the Ducks, USC’s schedule features visits to Northwestern and Purdue, a team USC upset last year during non-conference play in West Lafayette. USC then remains on the road to visit Washington for the second and final time on Nov. 27 before coming home to host Iowa on Black Friday for a senior night matchup.

During the 2023 season, USC went 19-13 overall and finished fifth in the Pac-12 with a record of 12-8. For the second consecutive year, the Trojans were selected for the NCAA Tournament under head coach Brad Keller, where they swept UMBC in the first round before losing to Pitt in Pittsburgh.

The Trojans’ first serve as members of the Big Ten will take place in Malibu on Aug. 30, when USC travels up the coast to face Pepperdine and try to extend its NCAA Tournament streak to three consecutive years under Keller.