The eight-time national champions, Penn State women’s volleyball team, will be headed to Arlington, Texas to play in the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights four-team tournament inside AT&T Stadium on Thursday, August 27.
This one-night, four team showcase also features five-time national champion Nebraska along with SMU and Florida.
The Nittany Lions will play SMU in the second match of the night beginning at approximately 9:00 PM EST and if they win this opening round match against the Mustangs they will move onto a winner-take-all championship with $1 million on the line against the winner of the Cornhuskers and Gators at approximately 10:00 PM EST.
The specific television network and channel for Spikes Under The Lights have not yet been announced, but organizers have confirmed it will air during a national broadcast window on a major television network.
Penn State is led by 6′-6″ senior, right-side hitter, Kennedy Martin, and 6′-2″, redshirt senior setter, Alexis Stucky.
Martin was just named to the AVCA Women’s Volleyball National Player of the Year Watch List this past week. She is already a three-time All-American in her collegiate career. After her freshman and sophomore years at Florida she was named second-team All-American and first-team All-American, respectively. After her junior year at Penn State she made first-team All-American once again. Last year, Martin finished second in the nation in points/set (6.22) and third in kills/set. She also set program records for the 25-point rally scoring era in single-season points (728), points/set, kills, and kills/set. The Fort Mill, South Carolina native also set PSU program records for both points and kills in three-set, four-set, and five-set matches in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This upcoming season will be Stucky’s first year in a Nittany Lion uniform. The Laramie, Wyoming product has already joined her teammate, Martin, on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Her previous four years were with the Florida Gators. After her freshman year, she was named third-team AVCA All-American. Stucky comes to State College having made the AVCA All-Southeast Region Team twice (2022, 2025) and the All-SEC Team twice (2022, 2025).
After leading Penn State to their eighth national title in 2024, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley enters her fifth season at the helm in 2026. Last year after being preseason ranked No. 2 in the country, the Nittany Lions fell to No. 25 in the final AVCA poll and then loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against top-seeded Texas.
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll behind Wisconsin and Nebraska.
The preseason national poll is scheduled to come out on Monday, August 10.
Spikes Under The Lights could feature a championship match between the two, Big Ten heavyweights of Penn State and Nebraska.
