Two years ago, Arizona volleyball head coach Rita Stubbs scheduled an easy nonconference slate thinking her team needed confidence going into its first Big 12 season. Her team won all 11 matches before Big 12 play, but the weak schedule kept the Wildcats out of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, she went with a much tougher schedule and it paid off with the first tourney berth since 2018. If it works, there’s no reason to change it.
Despite losing its leading offensive player to graduation and both its setter
and a starter at middle blocker, Stubbs chose to challenge a squad that will feature nine newcomers and an unsettled lineup.
Every team on the Wildcats’ nonconference schedule except for San Diego State finished with a winning record last season. The Aztecs were just under .500 at 15-16. Eight of the 11 teams had single-digit losses. Five went to the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona will not even get the benefit of playing in McKale Center for the first five weeks of the season. After opening the regular season at home in the Wildcat Classic from Aug. 28-30, the team hits the road for the rest of the nonconference season. The Wildcats then open Big 12 play on the road. They will not return home until Oct. 2 when Iowa State comes to town.
The fans will get to meet the new team when the Red-Blue Game kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 15. The ’Cats continue with preparation games that don’t count by hosting an exhibition against GCU on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The final exhibition game will get them ready for the road. They travel to New Mexico for their final exhibition at New Mexico on Saturday, Aug. 22.
Arizona hosts its only home tournament this season beginning on Friday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. MST. First up is Prairie View A&M. The Panthers finished with an 18-12 record last season. They went 15-1 in their conference but were knocked out in the first round of the SWAC Tournament and missed the NCAA Tournament. Since the NIVC was not held last year, their dominance in the regular season went for naught due to a 252 RPI and 242 KPI.
Tarleton State is up next. The Wildcats face the Texans on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 12:30 p.m. MST in McKale Center. Tarleton State finished 2025 with a loss to Utah Tech in the WAC Tournament semifinals. It put the bow on a 16-10 season with a 186 RPI and a 185 KPI.
The Wildcats’ final home game of the nonconference season comes against UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos went 23-9 last year, but they were another tough-luck loser in their conference tournament. They lost to top-seeded UC Davis in the Big West Tournament. Their RPI of 51 and KPI of 61 kept them on the outside looking in on selection day.
Arizona’s extended road trip starts with what will likely be the toughest opponent on the schedule. It’s also a chance for new Wildcat Destiny Ndam-Simpson to face her old team.
Arizona travels to Omaha, Neb. to take on Creighton, Tulsa, and Pepperdine in the Bluejay Invitational. The Wildcats get things started against the host team on Friday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. MST.
Despite being a “mid-major,” Creighton is one of the top volleyball programs in the country. The Bluejays made their first NCAA Tournament in program history in 2010 and haven’t looked back. They have missed just one NCAA Tournament since that historic season. They have made the Elite Eight the last two years. They finished 28-6 overall and 16-0 in the BIG EAST last season.
Arizona will continue at the Bluejay Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m. MST with a match against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane went 25-7 overall and 12-4 in the American Conference last season. They earned the No. 3 seed in the American Tournament and upset No. 1 Rice to get to the NCAA Tournament. They bowed out in the opening set to Miami in four sets.
Arizona will have a relatively quick turnaround with a match against Pepperdine at 10 a.m. MST on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Wave went 28-6 overall and 15-3 in the WCC last season. Despite an RPI of 43, a KPI of 58, and just six losses all season, they were left out of the tournament.
The Wildcats won’t come home, but they will be back out West the following week when they travel to USC for a tournament. It will be a meeting of former Pac-12 foes with Oregon State also in the mix. Arizona starts with the host team at 7 p.m. MST on Friday, Sept. 11.
USC went 25-7 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten last season. They earned the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament but were eliminated by Cal Poly in the second round.
The Wildcats face the Beavers on Saturday, Sept. 12 at a time still to be determined. Oregon State will be participating as a member of the resurrected Pac-12 for the first time this season.
The two teams met on a neutral court last season in a match Arizona won in four sets. Oregon State went on to finish 19-9 overall and 13-5 in the WCC. The Beavers’ 106 RPI and 109 KPI had them a good distance outside the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats’ final matches in a tournament setting will include a matchup against a team they faced last year. It will also have another member of the team facing her former program after transferring in the offseason.
UA will head back to Southern California to take on San Diego and San Diego State. First up is the host Toreros on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. MST.
There will be plenty to play for in this one. USD defeated Arizona in fived sets at Washington last season. Arizona picked up former San Diego OPP Kennedy Osunsanmi from the portal after the season.
The Toreros are coming off a 25-5 season that ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They went 18-0 in the WCC.
The Wildcats follow their match against the Toreros with a 6 p.m. contest against San Diego State on Friday, Sept. 18. SDSU finished one match below .500 last season. The Aztecs went 9-9 in the Mountain West and lost in the MWC Tournament semifinal to end their season.
Arizona wraps up its nonconference schedule with a trip to UTEP on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Miners beat the Wildcats 3-1 in Tucson last season. It was one of 25 wins against just five losses in a great season for UTEP. It went 15-1 in Conference USA but lost its opening game in the conference tournament. An RPI of 16 and a KPI of 17 made that loss inconsequential. The Miners made the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection but lost to North Carolina in the first round.
The Wildcats start Big 12 play later in the week with a match at Colorado on Sunday, Sept. 27. The program released its conference schedule in April.
Arizona went 17-13 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12 last season. It made its first NCAA Tournament under Stubbs and the first for the program since 2018.
