While college volleyball season doesn’t start until the fall, some college teams have the opportunity to play against professionals in the Athletes Unlimited volleyball exhibition tour.
The tour “features a team of professional volleyball athletes traveling across the U.S. to play a series of exhibition matches against top college programs, while promoting the sport at a grassroots level and previewing the fall championship season.”
Athletes Unlimited was founded by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros on March 3, 2020, and has four women’s professional sports under its umbrella: softball, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse. In 2021, it added volleyball and in 2022, it added basketball.
Season 3 of volleyball is set to start in October at Bell Bank Park in Mesa, Arizona. The league boasts 44 of the world’s top players and the season will include a full 30-match championship season will air live, exclusively on ESPN Platforms.
Prior to the season, the players will go on tour from March 25, 2023 and runs through April 21, 2023 making various stops across the United States to play collegiate programs.
| Date | Opponent |
| March 25 | Ohio State University |
| March 27 | University of Kentucky |
| March 31 | University of Louisville |
| Apr. 4 | University of Minnesota |
| Apr. 5 | University of Wisconsin |
| Apr. 12 | University of Texas |
| Apr. 13 | Baylor University |
| Apr. 19 | Howard University |
| Apr. 21 | Penn State University |
Sydney Hilley is a former Wisconsin Badger who has played overseas since the conclusion of her collegiate career. Hilley is thrilled to be back on her collegiate campus, this time as a professional athlete.
“It’s crazy because I never thought I’d play in the Field House again,” she said. “Honestly, it’s going to be a little weird not wearing a Wisconsin jersey in the Field House, but overall, I’m just really excited to go back. It’s such a fun environment to play in. Even when I was there during spring matches, they would almost sell out. They had so many fans there, even in spring games.”
Athletes Unlimited is providing the opportunity for athletes to stay home and play professionally instead of going overseas.
“The opportunity to play volleyball in the U.S. at a high level was something that drew my attention,” Hilley said. “So when they reached out to me, I was like, ‘Heck, yeah, let’s do it and let’s grow volleyball in the U.S. so that players don’t have to go overseas to play professionally if they don’t want to.”
"Honestly, it’s going to be a little weird not wearing a Wisconsin jersey in the Field House, but overall, I’m just really excited to go back. It’s such a fun environment to play in."@sydneyhilley couldn't be more excited to be back in Madison 🏐#AUVB x @BadgerVB
— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) April 5, 2023
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