The American Volleyball Coaches Association is excited to reveal that 2026 AVCA First Serve will take place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, August 21–23.
AVCA First Serve will mark the beginning of the 2026 women’s volleyball season with six matches featuring eight of the nation’s top college volleyball teams over three days.
“Sports Milwaukee is thrilled to team up with Fiserv Forum to bring the nation’s best collegiate volleyball players to Milwaukee next year and celebrate the passion for volleyball shared across Milwaukee and Wisconsin,” said Marissa Werner, Director of Sports Milwaukee.
“We are excited to host the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s First Serve event for the first time at Fiserv Forum,” said Dennis Williams, SVP and General Manager of Fiserv Forum. “Our venue has established a strong tradition of presenting major women’s volleyball events, and we are proud to build on that foundation by welcoming this distinguished competition to Milwaukee.”
The last two years of the popular, season-opening event have featured marquee match ups between elite teams. The 2025 AVCA First Serve included two of this season’s final four teams—Pittsburgh and Texas A&M—and other national powers among the eight participating teams were Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford. The 2024 edition featured Wisconsin, Kentucky, Louisville, and Nebraska.
Dr. Jaime Gordon, CEO of AVCA, added, “We raised the bar with AVCA First Serve in 2025, and we are looking forward to continuing the momentum as we look ahead to 2026 in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum. Players and fans will get to have an unforgettable experience in a place that has a passion for volleyball.”
Tickets for AVCA First Serve will go on sale on Friday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. CT at www.fiservforum.com. Check the 2026 event page for updates on ticketing, as well as announcements about participating teams and other pertinent information.
Make sure to sign up on the event page to stay current and to register for the Fan Pack Giveaway that includes tickets, lodging, and meal credit for 2026 AVCA First Serve.
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About the American Volleyball Coaches Association
The association’s mission is to advance the sport of volleyball with AVCA coaches at the center of leadership, advocacy, and professional development. Members include more than 10,000 collegiate, professional, high school, club, and youth volleyball coaches—primarily in the United States. The AVCA represents women’s volleyball, men’s volleyball, and beach volleyball coaches, and works to increase exposure and recognition for the sport of volleyball.
About Visit Milwaukee
Visit Milwaukee creates economic impact and supports a stronger, more inclusive community by promoting the Greater Milwaukee area as a premier tourism destination. Strengthened by Visit Milwaukee’s dynamic convention and leisure marketing initiatives, tourism to Milwaukee contributes $6.388 billion to the local economy, supporting nearly 44,000 hospitality employees. Visit Milwaukee has over 1,000 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services, and area businesses. The Wisconsin Center District, with its recently completed $456 million Baird Center expansion, the city of Wauwatosa, and Potawatomi Casino | Hotel are strategic partners with Visit Milwaukee, providing funding support for conventions and tourism programs. For more information, call (800) 554-1448 or visit https://visitmilwaukee.org.
About Fiserv Forum
Fiserv Forum is a preeminent sports and entertainment arena in downtown Milwaukee that opened on Aug. 26, 2018. Designed by Populous, Eppstein Uhen Architects and HNTB, the venue offers incomparable sightlines, customer service, technology and amenities. Fiserv Forum includes 17,341 seats for basketball, 15,178 for hockey and up to 18,000 for concerts, with 34 luxury suites and three clubs. The world-class arena is home to the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University’s men’s basketball team and was selected to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention and the 2024 Republican National Convention. Fiserv Forum hosts a diverse variety of year-round events, including major concerts, family shows and other sports and entertainment events. Fiserv Forum is the anchor of the surrounding 30-acre Deer District neighborhood, which is Milwaukee’s premier location for people to live, work and play. In 2025, Fiserv Forum was awarded LEED Platinum Certification for sustainability performance. Founding Partners for Fiserv Forum include Fiserv, BMO, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Johnson Controls, Motorola, Potawatomi Hotel and Casino and Beechwood Sales and Service/Anheuser-Busch. For more information, please visit www.fiservforum.com.
