The AVCA First Serve, established by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was an annual NCAA volleyball showcase that was held at the start of each fall season.
The AVCA First Serve, originally known as the AVCA First Serve Showcase, is an annual season-opening event for NCAA Division I women’s volleyball organized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The event brings together nationally prominent programs for a series of predetermined matches, generally played at large neutral-site arenas and televised nationally.
The current event began in 2024 as a revival of earlier season-opening competitions sponsored by the AVCA from 1995 through 2011 and again in 2014. Unlike some editions of the earlier AVCA Showcase, the modern First Serve is not conducted as a bracketed tournament and does not award an overall championship.
History
editThe AVCA began sponsoring a major early-season women’s volleyball event in 1995. The original competition was initially associated with the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and was known as the State Farm/NACWAA Classic before becoming the AVCA Showcase.
Through 2007, the showcase generally used a four-team tournament format, with semifinal winners meeting for a championship and the other teams playing a consolation match. Beginning in 2008, it changed to a conference-challenge format in which two teams from one conference played two teams from another conference. The event was held annually through 2011, with an additional AVCA-sponsored preseason event taking place in 2014.
The AVCA revived the concept in 2024 following changes to NCAA scheduling exemptions for preseason showcase events. The revived competition was branded as the AVCA First Serve Showcase and was designed to stage nationally relevant matches at the official beginning of the Division I women’s volleyball season.
2024: Louisville
The inaugural edition of the revived event was held on August 27, 2024, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The arena was also scheduled to host the 2024 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball semifinals and championship later that year.
The one-night doubleheader featured four teams ranked in the preseason top ten: Nebraska, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Louisville. Nebraska defeated Kentucky in four sets in the opening match, while Louisville defeated Wisconsin in four sets in the second match. The announced attendance was 9,280, and both matches were broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
All four participating programs advanced to the regional finals of the 2024 NCAA tournament. Nebraska and Louisville subsequently reached the national semifinals, which the AVCA cited when announcing the event’s return for 2025.
2025: Lincoln and Sioux Falls
For 2025, First Serve expanded from a single doubleheader involving four teams to an eight-match, four-day event involving ten programs. Six matches were played from August 22 through August 24 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, while two additional matches were played on August 25 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was the first collegiate volleyball event held at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The participating teams were Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Florida, Penn State, Creighton, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Minnesota and Texas A&M. The field included defending NCAA champion Penn State and several other teams that had reached the final eight of the 2024 NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt played its first match following the university’s restoration of its women’s volleyball program.
The six Lincoln matches drew a cumulative attendance of nearly 42,000. Nebraska and Penn State were the only teams to complete the event without a loss. Nebraska defeated Pittsburgh and Stanford, while Penn State defeated Creighton and Kansas.
Every match was carried by a national television network, with broadcasts divided among Fox, FS1, ESPN and the Big Ten Network. The Nebraska–Pittsburgh opening match averaged 771,000 viewers on Fox and was reported as the second-most-watched regular-season women’s college volleyball telecast to that point. The Sunday matches between Stanford and Nebraska and between Florida and Pittsburgh also became two of ESPN’s most-watched regular-season volleyball broadcasts.
The 2025 event also introduced the First Serve Block Party, a three-day fan festival held in Lincoln’s Railyard district outside Pinnacle Bank Arena. The event included live entertainment, volleyball-related activities and appearances by representatives of professional and national volleyball organizations.
2026: Milwaukee
The 2026 AVCA First Serve is scheduled for August 21 through August 24 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was initially announced as a three-day showcase involving eight programs before a fourth day and two additional teams were added. The expanded schedule consists of eight matches involving ten teams.
The field includes all four semifinalists from the 2025 NCAA tournament: national champion Texas A&M, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. Arizona State, Louisville, Marquette, SMU, Texas and Xavier complete the field. The final day was promoted as a Big East Challenge, with Xavier playing Pittsburgh and Marquette playing Texas.
Under event guidelines announced by the AVCA, an institution may participate in First Serve no more than twice during a four-year period. The restriction was created to rotate participating programs and provide additional teams with opportunities to appear in the event.
Format
editFirst Serve is conducted as a showcase rather than a conventional tournament. Matchups are selected in advance, teams generally play one or two matches, and no overall event champion is declared.
The event has been used to stage the first official matches of the Division I season and has generally featured teams ranked nationally or coming off deep NCAA tournament runs. Venues have included professional or major multipurpose arenas rather than the regular home facilities of the participating programs.
The following table lists the Conferences, Teams, Records, and city the tournament is hosted in.
| Year | Conferences | Teams | Records for tournament | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | SEC Big Ten ACC |
Kentucky Wildcats (0-1) Louisville Cardinals (1-0) Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0) Wisconsin Badgers (0-1) |
Nebraska v. Kentucky: 3–1; Louisville v. Wisconsin 3–1 |
Louisville, Kentucky KFC Yum! Center |
| 2025 | SEC Big Ten ACC Big East Conference Big 12 Conference |
Kansas Jayhawks (1-1) Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-1) Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0) Stanford Cardinal (1-1) Pittsburgh Panthers (0-2) Florida Gators (1-1) Vanderbilt Commodores (0-1) Creighton Bluejays (0-1) Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0) Texas A&M Aggies (1-0) |
Nebraska v. Pittsburgh: 3–1; Stanford v. Florida 3–1 Kansas v. Vanderbilt 3–2; Penn State v. Creighton 3–0 Florida v. Pittsburgh 3–2; Nebraska v. Stanford 3–0 Penn State v. Kansas 3–2; Texas A&M v. Minnesota 3–2 |
Lincoln, Nebraska Souix Falls, South Dakota |
| 2026 | SEC Big Ten ACC Big East Conference Big 12 Conference |
Louisville Cardinals (0-0) Wisconsin Badgers (0-0) Texas A&M Aggies (0-0) Kentucky Wildcats (0-0) Pittsburgh Panthers (0-2) SMU Mustangs (0-0) Marquette Golden Eagles (0-0) Xavier Musketeers (0-0) Arizona State Sun Devils (0-0) Texas Longhorns (0-0) |
Texas A&M v. Louisville: 0–0; Wisconsin v. Kentucky 0–0 Wisconsin v. Louisville 0–0; Texas v. Arizona State 0–0 Texas A&M v. SMU 0–0; Pittsburgh v. Kentucky 0–0 Pittsburgh v. Xavier 0–0; Texas v. Marquette 0–0 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fiserv Forum |