NCAA volleyball continues its rapid growth with the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights exhibition at AT&T Stadium, as Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, and SMU headline the $1 million mini-tournament.

The made-for-TV event marks the Dallas NFL stadium's first women's college volleyball competition. Two semifinals and a championship match will take place within a three-hour broadcast window, all played in best-of-three formats.

Each NCAA volleyball team receives a $200,000 appearance fee. An additional $200,000 in prize money will be distributed based on tournament finish.

"We are excited and honored to be part of this historic event that showcases the continued growth of women's volleyball," Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly said in a team statement.

"This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season. Hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas."

'Spikes Under the Lights' Underlines NCAA Volleyball Boom

Nebraska volleyball already knows how to fill big venues, after the Huskers drew a women's sports record 92,003 fans to a 2023 outdoor match at Memorial Stadium.

Penn State currently holds the record for NCAA tournament appearances with 45, alongside eight national championship titles. Nebraska has competed in 44 tournaments and won five titles, while Florida lists 36 appearances. Recent powerhouse SMU has subsequently reached three consecutive NCAA tournaments, and five overall.

AT&T Stadium seats more than 100,000 fans for special events. Organizers of the August 27th exhibition are shooting to overtake Nebraska's attendance record.

With the 64-team national tournament bracket dropping in less than four weeks, the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers remain the only undefeated squad in the 2025 NCAA volleyball season after back-to-back weekend losses snapped the previously unbeaten No. 4 Texas Longhorns' winning streak.

Downed in consecutive Top-10 matchups, Texas first fell to No. 6 Texas A&M in a tense five-set thriller on Friday before No. 2 Kentucky quickly handled the Longhorns in a Sunday sweep.

"We got to make sure that we are dialed in from the very first point. I thought our team fought pretty hard, but we didn't execute the level that we can," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott.

The weekend's volatile Top 10 results ultimately cemented Nebraska's standing as the team to beat, with the Huskers earning a unanimous No. 1 vote in the AVCA rankings for the third time this season on Monday.

Nebraska's dominance drives even deeper than the team's current 22-0 season record, with the Huskers only dropping six sets all year as they ride a 13-game sweep streak into their last eight regular-season clashes.

"I wouldn't say there's anything super unique or new that we're doing," said first-year Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "Putting our players in challenging situations in practice against other players has been pretty important."

How to watch Nebraska and Texas volleyball this week

Top-ranked Nebraska will next face unranked Illinois at 8 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on FS1.

Meanwhile, No. 4 Texas will look to bounce back when the Longhorns take on recently unranked Florida at 7 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on the SEC Network.