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Women's Volleyball

NKU Women’s Volleyball Reveals 2026 Schedule

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Coming off a program-best season in the Horizon League in 2025, Northern Kentucky University Norse women's volleyball looks to take another run at the league championship in 2026, as the program announced its fall schedule on Friday. 

Northern Kentucky will play a pair of exhibition matches to open the season, first at home on August 20th against Xavier, before hitting the road to take on Morehead State on August 21st.

NKU opens the season with its first of three non-conference tournaments, the Jim Stone Challenge hosted by Ohio State. The Norse will take on Fresno State on August 28 at 3 PM, Bowling Green on August 29 at 1 PM, and the hosts, Ohio State, on August 30 at 2 PM. Next, the Norse head up I-75 for a three-game invitational held by Bowling Green. The Norse will take on American to open the tournament on September 4 at 10 AM, and play Arkansas State later in the day at 4. NKU wraps up play in Bowling Green against the hosts on September 5 at 5 PM. The Norse wrap up tournament play in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Steve Baumrind Invitational hosted by College of Charleston. Northern Kentucky will take on both Duquesne at 10 AM and Notre Dame at 4:30 PM on September 11, before playing the hosts at 1 PM on September 12. 

Northern Kentucky wraps up non-conference play with a home-and-home against Miami, first in Millett Hall on September 18 at 6:30, before hosting the RedHawks at Regents Hall on September 19 at 4 PM. 

The Norse open Horizon League play at Regents Hall, taking on the Milwaukee Panthers on September 25 & 26. With the addition of Northern Illinois in the Horizon League, the Norse will now have four one-off matches against League opponents. The first two of those come on the road, as NKU will face off with Cleveland State on October 2 and Oakland on October 3, in Cleveland and Rochester, respectively. NKU hits the road again the following weekend for a pair of matches against the Horizon League's newest member, the NIU Huskies. NKU will play NIU at the Convocation Center on both October 9 & 10. The Norse are then back home for two more, taking on Purdue Fort Wayne on October 16 & 17. Northern Kentucky then travels up to Dayton on October 20 for a date with defending tournament champions Wright State, before coming back home on October 23 to host Robert Morris. Another short road trip awaits the Norse on October 29 as they take on IU Indy in Indianapolis, and then come back to host Youngstown State on Halloween. Northern Kentucky's final road trip will be its longest of the Horizon League campaign, taking on Green Bay on November 6 & 7, before coming back home for two final matches – against IU Indy on November 10 and Wright State on November 13.

In 2025, the Norse set a new program record for conference wins since joining Division I, as Northern Kentucky finished 22-9 overall and 17-1 in Horizon League play. Northern Kentucky returns all three All-League First Team selections in Sydney Bray, Allison Risley, and Abby Pickard, the latter also being named the league's Freshman of the Year in 2025, while head coach Liz Hart earned Horizon League Coach of the Year honors. NKU returns 13 of 16 players from its 2025 roster, including 99.5% of kills, 97.8% of blocks, and 97.5% of points from the defending Regular Season Horizon League Champions. 

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Bray

#11 Sydney Bray

OH
5' 10"
Junior
Abby Pickard

#15 Abby Pickard

S
5' 10"
Freshman
Allison Risley

#8 Allison Risley

OH
5' 11"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sydney Bray

#11 Sydney Bray

5' 10"
Junior
OH
Abby Pickard

#15 Abby Pickard

5' 10"
Freshman
S
Allison Risley

#8 Allison Risley

5' 11"
Sophomore
OH