Kentucky vs. Louisville Volleyball Set For Sunday, Sept. 20
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Volleyball team will play its annual match with Louisville on Sunday, Sept. 20 in 2026, the schools announced Friday afternoon. The match will take place inside Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised on a station within the ESPN Family of Networks to be announced later.
The annual “Battle of the Bluegrass” has become one of the preeminent rivalries in college volleyball in recent years with both Kentucky and Louisville competing annually for spots in the Final Four. Last season, UK knocked off No. 3 Louisville in a five-set match inside the KFC Yum! Center in the Derby City. The Wildcats used that to run through the rest of the non-conference season undefeated and an appearance in their second NCAA Final Four.
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Louisville 32-28 and its win over the Cards last year was its first in the series since 2019. The UK sweep of UL in 2019 was also Kentucky’s last win over Louisville in Lexington in the series history.
Already announced on the home schedule for 2026 in HMC are matches pitting Kentucky against national champions, Texas A&M, Texas, Louisville, an NCAA Tournament rematch with UCLA, and the ACC/SEC Challenge with North Carolina.
Fans interested in renewing their 2026 season tickets or becoming a new season-ticket holder can buy now at UKathletics.com/tickets.
2026 Kentucky Volleyball Announced Non-Conference Matches
Friday, August 21 // vs. Wisconsin // Milwaukee // 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, August 23 // vs. Pitt // Milwaukee // 4 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 2 // UCLA // Lexington // TBA
Sunday, Sept. 6 // vs. Penn State // Chicago, Ill. // 7 p.m. ET or 9 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 9 // NORTH CAROLINA // Lexington // TBA
Saturday, Sept. 12 // vs. SMU // Nassau, Bahamas // 11 a.m. ET
Sunday, Sept. 13 // vs. Purdue or Houston // Nassau, Bahamas // TBD
Sunday, Sept. 20 // LOUISVILLE // Lexington, Ky. // 3 p.m. ET
For the latest on UK Volleyball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @KentuckyVB.
