The Wisconsin Badgers women's volleyball team's season may have ended sooner than hoped last night, falling in the Final Four to the Texas Longhorns. But at least they won't have to wait long for the rematch, as Fiserv Forum announced it will host an inaugural college volleyball showcase next fall – featuring the two heavyweight programs facing off once again.
Arranged by Intersport and FOX, the new women's college volleyball showcase will showcase the Badgers, Texas, Stanford and Minnesota at Fiserv Forum over Labor Day weekend next year on Sunday, Sept. 1 and Monday, Sept. 2. Wisconsin will face off against the Longhorns on the first day of the showcase along with Stanford vying against the Golden Gophers, while day two will feature the Badgers against Stanford as well as Texas versus Minnesota.
All four teams were in this year's NCAA women's volleyball tournament, with Minnesota making it to the round of 32, Stanford winning through to the Elite Eight, and Texas and Wisconsin making up half of 2023's Final Four. The schools' combined success goes beyond this past season, too, together winning four of the last five national championships in women's volleyball (Texas last season, UW in 2021 and Stanford back to back in 2018 and 2019).
All four matches at the new volleyball showcase will be nationally broadcasted, with two matches shown on FOX and the other two shown on cable station FS1.
The annual showcase marks the latest volleyball event hosted at Fiserv Forum. Earlier this fall, the Downtown arena hosted a bout between interstate rivals Marquette and Wisconsin, in the process breaking the record for the largest attendance for an NCAA regular-season indoor match.
“Women’s volleyball is soaring in popularity, and we’re excited to host such a major event at Fiserv Forum,” said Kate Dordick, Senior Vice President of Booking of Fiserv Forum, in a release. "We are continually working to bring a wide variety of events to Milwaukee and are thrilled volleyball is returning to Fiserv Forum."
Tickets – along with match times and other information – will be announced at a later date; for updates and email alerts, however, fans can sign up at Fiserv Forum's website.
And for fans and those who just want to find out more about the growingly popular sport, this year's championship game between Texas and Nebraska will hit the court at 2 p.m. on ABC.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.