If it feels like all the top programs are playing each other to start the season, you aren't imagining things. It's a reality that the sport hasn't seen to this level, and it's incredibly intentional. One of the things that volleyball has decided to do to help grow the game and better the sport/players is stack the schedule with loaded top competition.
The strategy is working, according to Fox Sports PR. Wisconsin vs. Louisville had 645,000 viewers, which is up 15% from last year's AVCA First Serve match on Fox. That's an important metric for volleyball fans because networks only want to show things that bring in revenue especially on the main channel, over-the-air channel like Fox.
It was a top-10 matchup that featured a 0-1 No. 6-ranked Wisconsin versus a 1-0 No. 7 Louisville. It had all the potential to be a thriller and feature elite volleyball. The latter was true, but the former was not, as the Badgers went to work and came away with a 3-0 sweep. Yet, the growth for Fox was evident and volleyball is growing as a whole.
.@AVCAVolleyball First Serve delivered Saturday on FOX 🏐
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) August 25, 2026
📈 Wisconsin’s win over Louisville averaged 645,000 viewers on FOX, up +15% vs. last year’s AVCA First Serve average on FOX. pic.twitter.com/iVBeHGXEXM
Wisconsin is at the forefront of college volleyball's new strategy to elevate the game
Related: Kelly Sheffield is pulling out lineups like a Swiss Army Knife for Wisconsin volleyball
AVCA First Serve is just one example of how the top programs in college volleyball are not shying away from elite competition, but instead leaning into it. That event alone featured six ranked vs. ranked teams and eight total matches with a ranked team in the contest. Of those matches, four included top-10 teams going head-to-head.
That's not the end of the strategy to start the year off with a bang; Wisconsin this weekend will be participating in the Opening Spike Classic and facing off against No. 5 Stanford and No. 4 Pitt.No. 15 Kansas will also be in the field, but Wisconsin won't end up playing them, as the Jayhawks will instead be taking on Pitt and Stanford on alternate days.
Then, after the Opening Spike Classic, the Badgers will participate in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge, which pits the entirety of Big Ten volleyball against all of the SEC. It's another intentional step to not only grow the game of volleyball but also to give bragging rights to one of the conferences (which then, in turn, grows the conferences). Wisconsin will be taking on No. 17 Florida and Auburn in that showdown.
All this to say, Wisconsin is at the forefront of elevating women's college volleyball. Kelly Sheffield is very intentional about it too. He has been public about the fact that Wisconsin didn't say "no" to anyone (unless there was a schedule conflict).
The ratings are up, there are more eyeballs on the product, networks are noticing, and you can thank teams like Wisconsin. Sure, the record may not be as clean at the end of the year, but the best teams will work their way out of that, and ultimately these early challenges will only help, not hurt.
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