Stream Volleyball Without Cable – Our Favourite Options to Watch Online

I have played and followed volleyball for many years, witnessing its popularity grow through professional leagues worldwide and across college campuses in NCAA competition.

In a hurry? US volleyball fans can watch most matches with the ESPN family of channels. These are our favorite services:

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Volleyball is one of the world’s most popular sports, though this varies from country to country — including the types of teams supported.

For example, college volleyball is the main interest in the US, whereas international fanbases focus more on professional teams.

Where can you watch live volleyball? It depends on a few factors. Fans within the US can find a significant amount of college volleyball coverage on ESPN+, while various conferences and schools stream games for a direct cost or for free. Some matches are regionally or nationally telecast.

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About Volleyball

Volleyball was created in Holyoke, MA, by American William G Morgan. Its invention in 1895 came just four years after basketball was invented by James Naismith 10 miles away, in Springfield.

Popularity Within the US

Most US-based fans are interested in NCAA Volleyball. Nearly all Division I institutions with basketball teams also have women’s volleyball teams. A much smaller number sponsor men’s squads too. The women play in the fall while the men compete in spring schedules. The women’s national champion is decided in December, and the men’s title is determined in May.

Over the years, organizers have struggled to create and sustain professional US-based women’s volleyball leagues. The latest attempt is Athletes Unlimited Volleyball, which offers a unique format: players switch teams every week. As a result, this league is more about enjoying the sport and its athletes rather than bonding with a specific team that represents a region or culture.

Athletes Unlimited Volleyball seasons only last five weeks and take place in one city. For the 2024 edition, this will be Mesa, Arizona.

International Popularity

Beyond the US, the focus is primarily on the sport’s professional side. Most of the world’s top professional women’s teams are based in Europe, particularly Turkey, Italy, and Germany. The best sides from there and throughout Europe participate in the CEV Champions League.

The sport is popular in parts of Asia too, where the AVC Club Championships are held. It is also popular in areas in Africa, South America, and North America, the first two of which have continental championships as well.

On the men’s side, arguably the world’s best professional leagues are in Italy, Russia, and Brazil. Each of the continents (minus North America) hold continental championships as well. The one in Europe is named the CEV Champions League (the same as its women’s counterpart).

There are Club World Championship competitions for both men’s and women’s teams too.

The Summer Olympics provides volleyball with its greatest stage. Twelve men’s and women’s national teams take part in their respective competitions. Before the 2024 Games, Brazil, the US, and the former Soviet Union had three men’s gold medals each, tying for the largest win tally. The Soviet Union has the most women’s golds, at four, trailed by China and Cuba with three each. None of these records changed following the Paris Olympics, with France winning gold for the men and Italy winning its first gold for the women.

World Championships and continental championships are held for national teams as well. So are Men’s and Women’s Nations Leagues, both of which take place over several weeks in the summer.

Beach Volleyball

Beach volleyball is a version of the sport that has gained rapid interest over the last couple of decades, at both the Olympics and in various year-round competitions. The most prestigious of the latter group is the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

2024 Volleyball Schedule

NCAA Volleyball Schedule

• NCAA Women’s Volleyball:
  • Aug 25 – Nov 30: Season
  • Dec 1 – Dec 22: Championship Tournament
    • Dec 1: Selection Show (ESPNU)
    • Dec 5-7: First and Second Rounds
    • Dec 12-14: Regionals (ESPNU, ESPN2)
    • Dec 19: Semifinals (ESPN)
    • Dec 22: Final (ABC)
• NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball:
  • Feb – Apr: Season
  • May 3-5: Championship (ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2, ESPN+)
• Men’s Volleyball:
  • Jan – Apr: Season
  • Apr 30 – May 4: Championship (ESPN)

Athletes Unlimited Schedule

• Week 1: Oct 4 – Oct 8
• Week 2: Oct 12 – Oct 15
• Week 3: Oct 19 – Oct 22
• Week 4: Oct 26 – Oct 29
• Week 5: Nov 2 – Nov 5

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2024 Women’s Volleyball

There are too many women’s volleyball games during the 2024 season for us to list them all. But watching the ones you want should be fairly straightforward, as almost all of them will be on ESPN+.

Watch the entire 2024 women’s volleyball season with Hulu + Live TV!

Here is the schedule with times and channels for the games during the first few days of the 2024 NCAA volleyball season:

• Thursday, August 22nd:
  • 6:00 pm: Shorter vs West Georgia (ESPN+)
• Saturday, August 24th:
  • 1:00 pm: UT Tyler vs Stephen F. Austin (ESPN+)
  • 3:00 pm: South Dakota vs Northern Iowa (ESPN+)
  • 5:00 pm: Kansas State vs Wichita State (ESPN+)
• Sunday, August 25th:
  • 4:00 pm: Central Washington vs Portland State (ESPN+)
• Tuesday, August 27th:
  • 7:00 pm: Kentucky vs Nebraska (ESPN2)
  • 9:30 pm: Wisconsin vs Louisville (ESPN2)

2024 Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship

• April 28th, 11:00 am: Selection show
• May 3rd: Opening round and first round
  • No. 16 North Florida (3), No. 17 Chattanooga (0)
  • No. 4 Florida State (3), No. 13 Washington (1)
  • No. 5 Cal Poly (3), No. 12 Arizona State (0)
  • No. 1 USC (3), No. 16 North Florida (0)
  • No. 8 LMU (CA) (3), No. 9 Hawaii (1)
  • No. 2 UCLA (3), No. 15 Texas A&M Corpus Christi (0)
  • No. 7 California (3), No. 10 Long Beach St. (1)
  • No. 3 Stanford (3), No. 14 Georgia State (0)
  • No. 11 LSU (3), No. 6 TCU (2)
• May 4th: Second round and semifinals
  • No. 1 USC (3), No. 8 LMU (CA) (0)
  • No. 5 Cal Poly (3), No. 4 Florida State (1)
  • No. 2 UCLA (3), No. 7 California (0)
  • No. 11 LSU (3), No. 3 Stanford (2)
  • Semifinals: No. 1 USC (3), No. 5 Cal Poly (0)
  • Semifinals: No. 2 UCLA (3), No. 11 LSU (1)
• May 5th: National Championship
  • No. 1 USC (3), No. 2 UCLA (0)

2022 Men’s Volleyball Championship

• Sunday, April 21st: Selection show
• Tuesday, April 30th: Quarterfinals
  • Quarterfinal Match 1: No. 1 UCLA (3), No. 8 Fort Valley State (0)
  • Quarterfinal Match 2: No. 4 UC Irvine (3), No. 5 Penn State (0)
  • Quarterfinal Match 3: No. 2 Long Beach State (3), No. 7 Belmont Abbey (0)
  • Quarterfinal Match 4: No. 3 Grand Canyon (3), No. 6 Ohio State (0)
• Thursday, May 2nd: Semifinals
  • No. 1 UCLA (3), No. 4 UC Irvine (2)
  • No. 2 Long Beach State (3), No. 3 Grand Canyon (2)
• Saturday, May 4th: National Championship
  • No. 1 UCLA (3), No. 2 Long Beach State (1)

Where Do I Watch Live Volleyball?

Watching volleyball depends significantly on whether you want to watch high school, college, or professional volleyball, and where the players and teams are based.

USA Volleyball Broadcasting and Streaming

Most volleyball matches streamed in the US are at the college level. There are ways to watch professional and high-school games as well though.

College Volleyball

If you want to watch NCAA volleyball on television, ESPN and its family of channels is your best option. Most regular season games air on ESPN+ or conference-focused channels, such as the SEC Network and ACC Network (both under ESPN’s umbrella) and the Big Ten Network (B1G) (which is independent). In 2024, a few full matches will air on ABC, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), and the Mountain West Network, while some stream on FloSports.

The 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship regional semifinals and finals will air on ESPNU and ESPN2. The semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN, with the Final Championship match airing on ABC. The 2024 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship’s title match airs on ESPN.

ESPN+ ($10.99/month) is one of the most useful options for streaming NCAA Division I regular-season volleyball matches, depending on which school or conference you want to watch. Most games during the regular season air on ESPN+.

These are all the channels airing games during the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball season and Championship:

Get Volleyball Coverage with Hulu + Live TV

If you are looking for regular-season action not available on ESPN+, research which networks your school or conference has streaming rights with (usually available on the school’s website). ACCN, B1G, Pac-12 Network, and SECN are available with live TV streaming services.

Many smaller, college-based options are free, including at the Division I level. For example, you can watch matches hosted by Conference USA squads at CUSA.tv. And most NCAA Division II and III matchups are available for free — go to your chosen school’s team’s schedule page for links.

Another option is FloVolleyball ($29.99/month). This provides coverage of almost every game, including the 2024 CAA Women’s Volleyball Championship and 2024 MPSF Men’s Volleyball Championship. It also provides on-demand replays and has covered professional volleyball in previous years. See our FloSports review for details.

Watch Volleyball With FloVolleyball

High School Volleyball

If a high school volleyball match is being broadcast, it’s usually available through the NFHS Network ($11.99/month). This channel includes coverage of teams throughout the country. For more information, see our NFHS Network review.

Stream High School Volleyball With NFHS Network

Professional Volleyball

For US-based pros, Athletes Unlimited Volleyball has partnered with ESPN for the 2024 contest. Ten matches will air on ESPNU, while the remaining 20 will stream on ESPN+.

Other Professional Volleyball

Contests played at the Summer Olympics, including beach volleyball matchups, may be viewed on NBC-related channels, such as NBC, USA, and CNBC. They can also be streamed through Peacock Premium.

The availability of other international competitions and how you can watch them varies.

For example, those looking to enjoy CEV Champions League coverage can subscribe to the Champions League package offered by EuroVolleyTV (€4.99/mo or about $5.50/mo). Volleyball World ($7.99/mo) is another option to watch the best players play, as it’s the home of the Nations Leagues (2024 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League), Club World Championships, Italian Volleyball Leagues, and Beach Pro Tour.

Prime Volleyball League can also be watched on Willow TV.

What channel is the FIVB Volleyball Nations League on?

In 2024, the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) will air on CBS Sports in the US and Canada. It can also be streamed on Volleyball World.

The Volleyball Nations League are annual men’s and women’s contests between professional international volleyball teams from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Russia and France have the most men’s titles (two each), while the US has the most women’s titles with three.

Where To Watch Volleyball Games Online?

Several cable-replacement streaming services provide access to ESPN networks and other sports-oriented channels in one plan. These include FuboTV ($79.99/month), Sling TV ($40.00/month — see our Sling volleyball streaming guide), and DIRECTV STREAM ($86.99/month).

A great option is Hulu + Live TV for $82.99/month. This includes 95+ live TV channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACCN, B1G, SECN, FS1, FS2, and CBSSN. And to top it off, you get ESPN+ and Disney+ included.

Get Hulu + Live TV Free

Coverage in Non-US Nations

The broadcasting and streaming of volleyball throughout the world varies. As volleyball is only a minor sport in the United Kingdom, coverage is usually limited to the Olympics which airs on the BBC and Eurosport. The latter channel also airs volleyball matches from elsewhere in Europe.

In other countries, national broadcasters sometimes show games for their national teams. Other TV providers will show games according to demand.

Devices to Live Stream Volleyball

Almost every streaming service supports the major streaming devices. ESPN+, whether you get it alone or as part of Hulu + Live TV, supports the following devices:

Wrapping Up

Volleyball can be viewed through many channels and streaming services, particularly the latter. Many college matches in the US are available on ESPN+ ($10.99/month), including a significant number of NCAA Women’s Volleyball regular season contests.

Overall, we think Hulu + Live TV is the best service for volleyball fans. Try the Hulu Live free 3-day trial.

See Also

We have detailed guides on how to watch almost every sport in the US. If you’re interested in volleyball, you may be interested in the following:

• Beach volleyball
• College Basketball
• College World Series (baseball)
• Women’s College World Series (softball)
• NCAA Football
• NCAA Hockey
• Women’s Lacrosse

You can also learn how to save money by switching from cable to a streaming service without losing any of your favorite channels, shows, or sports.

FAQ

Who holds the record for most consecutive matches won in NCAA Volleyball?

In women’s NCAA Volleyball, Penn State holds the record for most consecutive championships, winning four between 2007 and 2010. They also won in 2013 and 2014, but failed to continue the streak after losing to Hawai’i in the 2015 Regional semifinals (the 2015 Championship was won by Nebraska).

Despite this, 2015 was the year Penn State’s women’s soccer team had a historic campaign, in which they won the NCAA Tournament Championship for the first (and only) time.

What were the final standings of the 2023 Athletes Unlimited season?

In the following list of top 10 players, the format is the player’s name followed by their total points.

1. Bethania de la Cruz 4,652
2. Natalia Valentín-Anderson 3,337
3. Dani Drews 3,308
4. Cassidy Lichtman 3,279
5. Nootsara Tomkom 3,027
6. Leah Edmond 2,957
7. Morgan Hentz 2,950
8. Sheilla Castro 2,799
9. Ronika Stone 2,784
10. Erin Fairs 2,704

Featured image: volleyball match via Pixabay (under its Content License).

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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