Friday, August 28
Seattle, Wash.
7:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
UC Irvine
Volleyball Serves Up Opening Weekend
August 27, 2026 | Volleyball
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL
Husky Invitational | Alaska Airlines Arena
Friday, August 28
4:00pm -- San Diego State vs. IU Indianapolis | Live Stats
7:00pm -- Washington vs. UC Irvine | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
Saturday, August 29
4:00pm -- UC Irvine vs. IU Indianapolis | Live Stats
7:00pm -- Washington vs. San Diego State | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
Sunday, August 30
12:00pm -- San Diego State vs. UC Irvine | Live Stats
3:00pm -- Washington vs. IU Indianapolis | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
SEATTLE – The 2026 season of Husky Volleyball arrives Friday night, August 28, with the first of three-straight days of action in Alaska Airlines Arena. A young and exciting Washington squad hosts the four-team Husky Invitational from Friday through Sunday, with UW taking the court for the first time at 7 p.m. on Friday against UC Irvine.
Prior to the Husky opener against the Anteaters of Irvine, San Diego State will face IU Indianapolis at 4 p.m. Those teams will be UW's opponents over the weekend, with the Dawgs and Aztecs playing Saturday night at 7 p.m., and then Sunday at 3 p.m. the Huskies take on the IU Indy Jaguars.
Only the three UW matches will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
After two strong exhibition outings against Oregon State and Montana State over the past two weeks, the Huskies are ready to make it count. Washington has plenty of high-up goals for late in the season and can climb the first rung of the ladder this weekend.
The exhibition matches gave fans a chance for a sneak peak at what is a very different roster from last year's squad, which went 13-17 and 8-12 in the Big Ten. Over half of Washington's 2026 roster is new, with six first-years and two transfers for a total of eight new Dawgs, compared to seven returners.
The freshman/first-year class received high praise from recruiting sites, rated as high as 14th nationally, and from Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, who called it the foundation of the program's future. Lily Mae Buerkle, Hayden Conner, Sammy Destler, Kylie Kleckner, Kaitlyn Nguyen, Rian Stephan could all potentially see their first collegiate action this weekend, while transfers Andrea Fabikovicova (second-year setter from U. of San Francisco) and Addie Kanouff (third-year opposite from Texas Tech) figure to play big roles on their new squad.
Coach Gabriel will count on returning starters Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels to patrol the middle of the net, and Simona Mateska to build on her excellent freshman campaign on the outside. Hunt and Wessels enter their third and fourth years, respectively, and the middle blockers have each shown the ability to dominate the match on both sides of the ball. Mateska had the most kills by a Husky freshman in fifteen years last season, with strong passing and serving added in. A stint over the summer playing for the Serbian National Team at the European U22 Championships helped Mateska prepare for year two at UW.
Washington was voted 13th in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll this season, but that could be good luck. Two years ago the Dawgs were voted 13th but finished ninth overall and made the NCAA tournament.
Friday night's opponent, UC Irvine, is coming off a 2025 season that saw it go 13-18 overall and 8-10 in the Big West. The Anteaters were voted sixth in the Big West preseason coaches poll, which was led by Cal Poly. UC Irvine returns its No. 2 and No. 3 kills producers from last year as Madison Triplett had 180 kills and Lois Hansen had 165.
The Aztecs of San Diego State are part of the revamped Pac-12 this season, where they were picked to finish seventh. Last year, in its final season in the Mountain West, SDSU was 15-16 overall and 9-9 in conference play, making the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament. Libero Zara Stewart, setter Kendall Mairs, and outside hitter Ella Schabort were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List.
IU Indianapolis is out of the Horizon League, where it went 11-7 last season and 18-14 overall. The Jaguars were voted preseason No. 3 in the Horizon League this season. They return the 2025 Horizon League Setter of the Year Grace Purichia as well was 2025 All-Freshman Team selections Laura Roeder and Jillian Tippmann.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UWVolleyball on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Husky Invitational | Alaska Airlines Arena
Friday, August 28
4:00pm -- San Diego State vs. IU Indianapolis | Live Stats
7:00pm -- Washington vs. UC Irvine | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
Saturday, August 29
4:00pm -- UC Irvine vs. IU Indianapolis | Live Stats
7:00pm -- Washington vs. San Diego State | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
Sunday, August 30
12:00pm -- San Diego State vs. UC Irvine | Live Stats
3:00pm -- Washington vs. IU Indianapolis | Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
SEATTLE – The 2026 season of Husky Volleyball arrives Friday night, August 28, with the first of three-straight days of action in Alaska Airlines Arena. A young and exciting Washington squad hosts the four-team Husky Invitational from Friday through Sunday, with UW taking the court for the first time at 7 p.m. on Friday against UC Irvine.
Prior to the Husky opener against the Anteaters of Irvine, San Diego State will face IU Indianapolis at 4 p.m. Those teams will be UW's opponents over the weekend, with the Dawgs and Aztecs playing Saturday night at 7 p.m., and then Sunday at 3 p.m. the Huskies take on the IU Indy Jaguars.
Only the three UW matches will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
After two strong exhibition outings against Oregon State and Montana State over the past two weeks, the Huskies are ready to make it count. Washington has plenty of high-up goals for late in the season and can climb the first rung of the ladder this weekend.
The exhibition matches gave fans a chance for a sneak peak at what is a very different roster from last year's squad, which went 13-17 and 8-12 in the Big Ten. Over half of Washington's 2026 roster is new, with six first-years and two transfers for a total of eight new Dawgs, compared to seven returners.
The freshman/first-year class received high praise from recruiting sites, rated as high as 14th nationally, and from Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, who called it the foundation of the program's future. Lily Mae Buerkle, Hayden Conner, Sammy Destler, Kylie Kleckner, Kaitlyn Nguyen, Rian Stephan could all potentially see their first collegiate action this weekend, while transfers Andrea Fabikovicova (second-year setter from U. of San Francisco) and Addie Kanouff (third-year opposite from Texas Tech) figure to play big roles on their new squad.
Coach Gabriel will count on returning starters Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels to patrol the middle of the net, and Simona Mateska to build on her excellent freshman campaign on the outside. Hunt and Wessels enter their third and fourth years, respectively, and the middle blockers have each shown the ability to dominate the match on both sides of the ball. Mateska had the most kills by a Husky freshman in fifteen years last season, with strong passing and serving added in. A stint over the summer playing for the Serbian National Team at the European U22 Championships helped Mateska prepare for year two at UW.
Washington was voted 13th in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll this season, but that could be good luck. Two years ago the Dawgs were voted 13th but finished ninth overall and made the NCAA tournament.
Friday night's opponent, UC Irvine, is coming off a 2025 season that saw it go 13-18 overall and 8-10 in the Big West. The Anteaters were voted sixth in the Big West preseason coaches poll, which was led by Cal Poly. UC Irvine returns its No. 2 and No. 3 kills producers from last year as Madison Triplett had 180 kills and Lois Hansen had 165.
The Aztecs of San Diego State are part of the revamped Pac-12 this season, where they were picked to finish seventh. Last year, in its final season in the Mountain West, SDSU was 15-16 overall and 9-9 in conference play, making the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament. Libero Zara Stewart, setter Kendall Mairs, and outside hitter Ella Schabort were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List.
IU Indianapolis is out of the Horizon League, where it went 11-7 last season and 18-14 overall. The Jaguars were voted preseason No. 3 in the Horizon League this season. They return the 2025 Horizon League Setter of the Year Grace Purichia as well was 2025 All-Freshman Team selections Laura Roeder and Jillian Tippmann.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UWVolleyball on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
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/ VolleyballSunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30
