Breaking down the 2025 Stanford Women’s Volleyball schedule

AVCA First Serve Showcase

The Cardinal begin their 2025 season on Friday, August 22^nd against No. 16 Florida at 6:00 PM PT on FOX.  The match will be played in Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers. It will be the first of two matches the Cardinal will play in what’s called the AVCA First Serve Showcase. The Gators are always a tough opponent, going 23-8 overall and 11-5 in the SEC last season. Stanford defeated Florida 3-1 in the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament last season (Sweet Sixteen). The Gators should be fired up and eager to get a little revenge.

After playing the Gators, Stanford will then play No. 1 Nebraska in a true road match on Sunday, August 24^that 12:30 PM PT on ESPN. This will wrap up the AVCA First Serve Showcase for the Cardinal. The Cornhuskers went 33-3 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten, losing to Penn State in the Final Four in a match that went five sets. Nebraska swept Stanford 3-0 when they faced last season in Lincoln. 

On paper, Nebraska will be the heavy favorite in this match. Given all the new pieces they have this year, if Stanford can make this a competitive match, even if they lose, they can walk out feeling okay about themselves. What they can’t allow to have happen is for Nebraska to walk all over them. 

LBSU Tournament

Stanford will then head to Long Beach, California for a pair of matches that will be part of the LBSU Tournament. Up first will be Long Beach State on Friday, August 29^th at 7:00 PM PT. Formerly known as the 49ers, The Beach as they are now called went 19-11 overall and 12-6 in the Big West last season, failing to reach the NCAA tournament. Stanford on paper will be favored to win this one, but Long Beach State being at home will look to make the most of their home court advantage. 

Stanford will then face Oregon State in Long Beach on Saturday, August 30^th at 7:00 PM PT, wrapping up the two-day tournament in Long Beach. I’m not sure why they’re calling it a tournament and not a showcase since it technically isn’t a tournament, but I don’t make the rules. Anyhow, the Beavers went 10-18 overall and 8-10 in the WCC last season. This will be the final season the Beavers will play in the WCC before returning the Pac-12 with Washington State for the 2026-27 season as the league restocks. Stanford should look to make quick work of the Beavers. One benefit of this tournament is it involves playing matches on back-to-back days, giving the team an early feel for what NCAA tournament play will be like. 

Stanford will then hit the road once more to face No. 5 Texas on the road on Sunday, September 7^th at 10:00 AM PT. The Longhorns went 20-7 overall and 13-3 in the SEC last season, losing in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament to Creighton. Stanford defeated Texas 3-0 on The Farm last season, so Texas will be eager to get some payback. This should shape up to be another excellent test for the Cardinal in the early part of the season. 

Showdown at the Net 

Before finally having their home opener, Stanford will play one more road match at No. 17 Missouri on Tuesday, September 9^th at 6:30 PM PT on ESPN as part of what is being dubbed “Showdown at the Net.” The Tigers went 22-9 overall and 11-5 in the SEC last season, losing to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. While not the toughest opponent on paper that Stanford will have faced, Missouri is still a strong team that should be a difficult team to beat on the road. They were 10-2 at home last season. 

Homestand begins

Following their match against Missouri, Stanford will have their home opener on Friday, September 12^th at 6:00 PM PT against Utah State, a future Pac-12 team. The Aggies went 15-14 overall and 12-6 in the Mountain West last season, failing to reach the NCAA tournament. Stanford on paper will be heavy favorites in this one. Especially given the gauntlet they will have gone through coming into the match.  

Stanford will remain home to face UC Davis on Sunday, September 14^th at 3:00 PM PT. The Aggies went 19-10 overall and 13-5 in the Big West last season, failing to make the NCAA tournament. Stanford will look to cruise to an easy win in this one. Ideally a sweep. 

Stanford will then welcome Hawaii to The Farm on Friday, September 19^th at 6:30 PM PT. The Rainbow Wahine went 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the Big West last season, losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to TCU. Given they were an NCAA tournament team last season, Hawaii should be able to pose some challenges to Stanford. Still, Stanford being who they are will look to breeze by Hawaii with little trouble. 

Stanford’s home stand will continue as Texas State comes to The Farm on Saturday, September 20^th at 4:30 PM PT. Like the Aggies of Utah State, the Bobcats are a future Pac-12 program. They went 22-9 and 13-3 in the Sun Belt last season, getting swept by Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The fact that they were an NCAA tournament team indicates that they’ll be able to be a solid opponent for Stanford, though at the same time, Stanford will be heavily favored on their home floor. 

Stanford’s home stand will wrap up on Sunday, September 21^st against No. 18 UCLA at 3:00 PM PT. The Bruins went 14-15 overall and 8-12 in the Big Ten last season, so they’ve clearly restocked a lot to be ranked entering the season. One player they added from the transfer portal is former Cal outside hitter Maggie Li, who will be a junior. After two years in the Golden Bears’ program, Li decided to head to UCLA. Stanford on paper will be favored, but it will be interesting to see what the Bruins look like. 

ACC play begins 

After their road trip to “The Old Dominion”, Stanford will return home to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday, October 3^rd at 7:00 PM PT. The Irish went 12-17 overall and 5-15 in the ACC last season. Stanford will be heavy favorites in this one and will really need to make sure they take care of business. 

Stanford will then welcome No. 4 Louisville to The Farm on Sunday, October 5^th at 2:00 PM PT on ESPN. This will be the first of two regular season meetings between the two teams. The Cardinals went 30-6 overall and 17-3 in the ACC last season, defeating Stanford two out of three times both times at home (including an Elite Eight victory). This will be a huge match for both teams and with it being played at Maples Pavilion, Stanford will be expected to defend their home court. 

Stanford will then hit the road to face Boston College on Friday, October 10^th at 4:00 PM PT. The Eagles went 15-17 overall and 8-12 in the ACC last season, getting swept by Stanford when they faced off on The Farm. Stanford will look to make quick work of the Eagles again, but with it being on the road, they’ll have the challenge of playing in a new environment. 

After facing Boston College on the road, Stanford will then head up north to face Syracuse for another road contest. The Orange went 15-17 overall and 3-17 in the ACC last season, really struggling. Stanford swept them on The Farm last year and will look to do the same again this time. Being on the road will make this one tougher than last year, but Stanford will still be expected to win with little trouble. 

Stanford will then return home to face Florida State on Thursday, October 16^th at 7:00 PM PT. The Seminoles went 21-10 overall and 13-7 in the ACC last season, losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Ole Miss in five sets. Stanford will be favored, but I should note that Florida State is receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings, so they certainly on paper could give Stanford some trouble. Stanford did win their meeting last year in Tallahassee 3-1. 

Stanford will stay at home to face Miami on Sunday, October 19^th at 1:00 PM PT. The Hurricanes went 22-11 overall and 12-8 in the ACC last season, losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Nebraska (no shame in that). Miami did defeat Stanford 3-2 last season when they faced off in Coral Gables, so Stanford will be eager to get some payback. Miami is receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings, so they’re a team that could be ranked by the time they face Stanford. 

Four-match road trip

Stanford will then hit the road to face Clemson on Friday, October 24^th at 3:00 PM PT. The Tigers went 11-20 overall and 3-17 in the ACC last season, getting swept by Stanford. Stanford will look to get an easy win, but once again, with it being on the road, Stanford can’t take the Tigers too lightly. 

Stanford will then face No. 22 Georgia Tech on the road on Sunday, October 26^th at 9:00 AM PT on ACC Network. This will be the first of two regular season meetings between the two teams. The Yellow Jackets went 21-10 overall and 12-8 in the ACC last season, losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Wisconsin. Stanford swept Georgia Tech last season, defeating them both at home and on the road.  Stanford would love to do the same this year, but given how good the Yellow Jackets are, that will be no easy task. 

After facing Georgia Tech on the road, Stanford will stay on the road to face NC State on Friday, October 31^stat 4:00 PM PT. The Wolfpack went 16-13 overall and 11-9 in the ACC last season, losing to Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Stanford defeated NC State 3-1 at Maples Pavilion last year, but with this being a road match for Stanford, perhaps NC State will make things more interesting. 

Stanford will stay on the road once more to face Wake Forest on Sunday, November 2^nd at 10:00 AM PT. Daylight Savings Time will be over, so just a friendly reminder to set back your clocks that Sunday morning. Thankfully, smart phones do that automatically. Anyways, the Demon Deacons went 13-18 overall and 5-15 in the ACC last season. Stanford swept Wake Forest 3-0 when they met on The Farm last year. On paper, Stanford should win this match easily. That said, with it being the fourth match of their road trip, Stanford better make sure fatigue doesn’t get the best of them. 

Bay Area Stretch 

Stanford will then return home to begin a stretch of seven straight matches in the Bay Area, six of which will be at home. The one road match being at Cal. This will be a stretch Stanford will look to make the most of as they’ll only have one East Coast trip left and that will be to face Louisville, which isn’t really “East Coast” though they are in the eastern time zone. 

The first of these Bay Area matches will be at home against North Carolina on Friday, November 7^th at 7:00 PM PT. The Tarheels went 23-8 overall and 14-6 in the ACC last season, losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Penn State. Stanford smoked them 3-0 last season in Chapel Hill, but the Tarheels are a good enough team to possibly redeem themselves. Stanford better be ready. 

Stanford will then welcome Duke to The Farm on Saturday, November 8^th at 7:00 PM PT. The Blue Devils went 10-21 overall and 6-14 in the ACC last season. Stanford will look to make quick work of the Blue Devils in this one. 

Stanford will then welcome No. 3 Pittsburgh to Maples Pavilion on Friday, November 14^th at 7:00 PM PT. This will be the biggest home match of the season for the Cardinal, so they better hope to have the place packed to the brim. The Panthers went 33-2 overall and 19-1 in the ACC last season, losing to Louisville in the Final Four. Pittsburgh swept Stanford 3-0 last season when they faced off at their place, so Stanford will be eager to get even with them. This one should be fun. 

Stanford will then welcome No. 10 SMU to The Farm on Sunday, November 16^th at 2:00 PM PT on ESPN2. The Mustangs went 25-8 overall and 16-4 in the ACC last season, losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Missouri. They’ve proven themselves to be a legit program and they’ll be eager to get a win against Stanford after getting swept by them last year in Dallas. 

Rivalry Week 

Stanford will then welcome Cal to The Farm on Wednesday, November 19^th at 7:00 PM PT. This will be Big Game week, so there should be a little extra buzz around the match as a result. As I mentioned earlier, Cal lost their star player Maggie Li to UCLA, so that really hurts them. The Golden Bears went 15-17 overall and 7-13 in the ACC last year. Cal will bring the fight for this match. They always do. At the same time, Stanford’s superior talent and coaching should win out. 

Stanford will then have the return match against the Bears in Berkeley on Sunday, November 23^rd at 1:00 PM PT. This will be the day after Big Game, so it’ll help cap off a fun rivalry week. Cal once again will bring the fight and with it being at their place, they’ll be even more fired up. Stanford should still aim to get a 3-0 sweep, but Cal has shown they can make Stanford earn those sweeps and have some close sets. Stanford certainly will need to be sharp if they want to not only get the 3-0 sweep in Berkeley, but also get the 2-0 series sweep for the season. 

Senior Day 

Stanford will then come home to face Georgia Tech for a second time on Wednesday, November 26^th at 3:00 PM PT. The Cardinal will either be going for the sweep of the Yellow Jackets or look to get a split. This will certainly be a good test to wrap up the regular season home stand. It will be Senior Day, so that will add some extra motivation. 

Final road match 

After being at home for almost the entire month of November, Stanford will hit the road one last time to face Louisville on Saturday, November 29^th. The time for that match is TBD. Obviously, this will be a great road test for Stanford while also having huge implications on NCAA tournament seeding. 

Postseason 

Following the road match at Louisville, Stanford will await their NCAA tournament fate. On paper, Stanford should have little trouble making the tournament. The bigger question is what their seed will be. If they want to get to the Final Four this year, especially with a younger group than years past, having that home court advantage through the Elite Eight would be huge. 

Takeaways: This is once again a quality schedule that Stanford has. Their home schedule has more high-profile opponents than last year, so that will be fun for the Cardinal faithful. The month of November will be huge as only two matches are outside the Bay Area. They better look to ball out in that month and enter the NCAA tournament with some momentum. 

While the very end of the schedule presents some opportunity to rack up important wins, the beginning of the season could be a bit rocky due to the quality of opponents coupled with having a younger team than past years. It’ll be interesting to see how the Cardinal do in year two of the ACC and how they navigate what will once again be a challenging slate of matches. 

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