The Sanford Pentagon will serve as center stage for NCAA Division I college volleyball on Aug. 25 with four of the sport’s most prominent programs competing in a pair of matches that will attract national attention.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association First Serve is an annual event that will visit Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Pentagon this year. Defending national champion Penn State will face Kansas at 5:30 p.m., followed by Minnesota vs. Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m.
You can measure the significance by the numbers:
All four of the teams involved in the doubleheader, which will be telecast nationally on the Big Ten Network, finished in the top 20 a year ago. All four schools are among the top 14 teams in AVCA preseason rankings in 2025.
Or you can measure it by the wow factor:
“The people who are in the building for those matches are going to be amazed,” said Mark McCloskey, lead Sanford Sports Academy specialist for volleyball. “They will be amazed at how big, how fast and how athletic the game is at that level. People are going watch it and their jaws are going to drop.”
“Sioux Falls and Sanford have a long history of hosting high-level collegiate sports, primarily in basketball,” said Jaime Gordon, CEO of the AVCA. “I think with the growth and exposure of volleyball – both on a national scale and within the Sioux Falls community – it made sense to give this a shot. We wanted to bring real marquee volleyball matches to Sioux Falls. We’re very confident the community will embrace it.”
National stage
The AVCA First Serve will include eight nationally televised matches Aug. 22-24 at Pinnacle Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, highlighted by No. 1 Nebraska competing against No. 3 Pittsburgh on Aug. 22 and facing No. 6 Stanford on Aug. 24.
The event then shifts to Sioux Falls, accompanied by a Big Ten Network audience.
“Getting these marquee matches between these teams early in the season is a great way to announce that volleyball season is here,” said Keegan Cook, who is in his fourth year as head coach at Minnesota. “It has been a great addition to the yearly volleyball calendar.”
Overall, the First Serve field includes five participants that made the final eight in the 2024 NCAA Championship, including three semifinalists and last year’s champion. Nine of the teams were ranked in the top 20 of the final AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball Poll.
The defending national champions open the season against No. 12 Creighton in Lincoln, then face Kansas before the Minnesota-Texas A&M match. A season ago, Penn State defeated Louisville 3-1 for the title in Louisville.
It was the school’s eighth national title overall and first under Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, a former Nittany Lion All-American who was in her third year directing the program.
“Our players are really looking forward to this kind of competition,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “When we can start the season against great teams like this in this kind of tournament, we’re continuing to help grow the sport, especially when we’re doing it in a different area of the country. Hopefully Sioux Falls enjoys it. We’re continuing to help volleyball become what it’s becoming. Coupled with the national TV coverage, it’s all pretty special.”
A commitment to the sport
The Pentagon and Sioux Falls are now part of what is becoming an increasingly popular brand.
“For us, it starts with the community of Sioux Falls embracing the event,” Gordon said. “Then you have the teams competing – they’re all committed to growing the sport and showcasing it at its highest level. Then you have the presence of television networks recognizing the sport and its popularity.”
The Pentagon’s sports schedule has long been home to volleyball year-round with the Sanford Sports Academy offering opportunities to develop skills at practices, matches and tournaments for ages 10-18 on 11 courts.
These programs include teams competing on national, regional and local levels, providing volleyball opportunities for young athletes of all abilities.
A national volleyball centerpiece is now part of the volleyball package. The entertainment value is there, but so is the inspiration it can provide the community’s young athletes.
“I think back to the old adage, ‘If you can see it, you can be it,’” said McCloskey, whose longtime association with the AVCA helped bring First Serve to Sioux Falls.
“The level of volleyball in South Dakota hasn’t always been real high but in the last 10 years it has exploded,” he said. “We have kids from our programs playing all over the country at all different levels. It’s one of those things where now they can see that level in their own gym. Now it can be, ‘That’s where I want to be. How do I get there?’ Now it’s all right in front of us.”
McCloskey said more than 400 young athletes from fourth to eighth grades will have an opportunity to see the schools practice at the Pentagon prior to the Aug. 25 matches. Local high school players will also get opportunities to watch practices.
Penn State senior middle hitter Jordan Hopp grew up in Alliance, Nebraska, a town of about 8,000 in the western part of the state. She remembers clearly what it was like to see elite players for the first time.
“It’s a special feeling to have the opportunity to give back,” said Hopp, who will have a large group of friends and family in attendance for the matches in Lincoln and Sioux Falls. “I remember when I was that little girl going to watch older girls play in games or at camps. I was in awe of them. They seemed like superheroes at that point in my life. Now we get to give back to them and help volleyball grow across the country.”
Getting the season rolling
For the Gophers, a Big Ten rival of the national champions who will face the Nittany Lions on Nov. 14 in Minnesota, the Pentagon checks all the boxes.
“The first thing is that we have a chance to play outside of Minneapolis, but in a community that also has a lot of Gopher fans,” Cook said. “The second thing is that we have the opportunity to play Texas A&M, which is poised to be as good as they’ve ever been.”
The First Serve stop in Sioux Falls involves other firsts. This will be the first time for any of these teams to compete as college athletes at the Pentagon. For many it will be the first visit to Sioux Falls and likely the first visit to the state of South Dakota.
All the more reason to put on a good show.
“I know the Pentagon only by reputation,” Cook said. “I’ve heard a lot about it so it’s like ‘OK, I have to see this place and find out what it’s all about and see if it’s a place we’ll keep coming back to year after year.’ We always want to put our players in memorable spaces with amazing crowds. In that sense, it was an easy decision to decide to play there.”
Ahead of the game
There is value in starting the season off with fireworks. This applies to the sport overall, as well as individual programs. For Minnesota, it meant getting to practice earlier than normal and getting to work on transforming emphasis.
“We’ve been known as more a defensive grind-it-out team that tries to drag you through a three-hour night the last couple years,” Cook said. “We think we have the chance to flip that into being a more offensive-minded group that is a little more dynamic and puts up more points. If we can have some success against a team like Texas A&M, it bodes well for the rest of the season.”
For Penn State, defending the championship will include a different cast. Five players from the Nittany Lions’ title run have graduated. Filling those spots will be a process, but historically, graduation has not been a huge hurdle for this perennial national power.
“The current seniors learned a lot from last season,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I think they’re doing a great job helping the younger players and the new players who have joined us. They have tremendous pride in the program – they always want to leave it better than they found it, so I’m happy for this group and excited to see them compete.”
A closer look at the teams involved at the Pentagon:
Minnesota
The Gophers are ranked No. 11 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. They have been ranked in the preseason poll in 10 straight seasons and 24 of the last 26.
Last year, the Gophers went 21-11 (13-7 Big Ten) before falling to Kentucky in the NCAA’s Round of 32. Minnesota finished the year with a No. 18 overall ranking with Preseason All-Big Ten players Julia Hanson and Mckenna Wucherer the top returnees.
Kansas
Picked No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference poll, the Jayhawks earned three Big 12 preseason individual honors, with Cristin Cline, Reese Ptacek and Jovana Zelenovic all recognized among the league’s top players.
Kansas is ranked No. 14 in the AVCA preseason poll after the Jayhawks ended their 2024 season with a final AVCA ranking of No. 12. Kansas spent the entirety of the season in the Top 25 for the second consecutive year.
The Jayhawks’ squad includes senior Brynn Kirsch, a former Sioux Falls Lincoln standout.
Texas A&M
The Aggies are ranked No. 9 in the preseason AVCA poll, the highest ever for the program.
They are coming off a trip to the Sweet 16 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and their highest win total since 2019, finishing 2024 with a 21-8 record (10-6 SEC).
The team returns 11 players, including Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Logan Lednicky, who were named to the AVCA Player of the Year watch list.
Penn State
The defending national champions are ranked No. 2 behind Nebraska in the AVCA preseason poll and have several talented players.
Gillian Grimes, Kennedy Martin and Izzy Starck all earned preseason All-Big Ten honors. Martin is a two-time All-America honoree who transferred from Florida. Starck was AVCA’s top freshman last season.
Learn more
- Volleyball player comes back stronger from knee surgery
- U.S. Olympian mentors Sanford Volleyball Academy
- Fall volleyball league teaches youth the basics of the game
…
Posted In Community, Sanford Sports, Sioux Falls
