With the NCAA volleyball season in full swing, each week is packed with several matches. So much so, that despite it being the middle of the week, ESPN has released the broadcasting schedule for seven NCAA clashes from Wednesday through Sunday. However, instead of being delighted in anticipation of catching the action live on TV, fans had a different reaction.

Netizens weren’t surprised to see the upcoming October 27 clash between Louisville and Southern Methodist find a place on ESPN. However, the absence of Louisville’s earlier October 25 clash against Pittsburgh shocked and angered several fans. The ESPN PR team’s list of seven games didn’t include the Pittsburgh Panthers game on any of their sister channels, either.

Whether it was the ESPN SEC Network or ACCN, none of the “ESPN platforms” mentioned had the game. However, X-page Avid responded to the post, revealing where fans could stream the highly anticipated game. “Pitt-Louisville being scheduled on a Friday so it gets relegated to ACCNX is absolutely tragic.” the volleyball fan page posted.

“The Big 10 would never relegate Nebraska-Wisconsin to B1G+” they added in their response to the ESPN post, and several fans agreed. Some were so dissatisfied that they called for drastic action. “Fire whoever said not to stream Pitt vs. Louisville…” commented one individual. Yet, why did fans express such intense disapproval at the Panthers vs. Louisville game getting relegated to ACCNX?

That’s because ACCNX isn’t an on-demand channel. According to volleyball fans on Reddit, the channel is sometimes only accessible through the ESPN app. ESPN’s official website also backs up these claims. “You are not able to subscribe to ACCN/ACCNX directly or via ESPN+” describes the official guide. So it’s not surprising that netizens are expressing their disapproval of the move.

However, while several fans voiced their problems with the mid-week schedule update, others did some digging. Some may have even found out why the network omitted the Friday night clash between the two NCAA volleyball teams.

Volleyball fans may have figured out the reason behind the decision

While SMU pulled off a huge upset against Nebraska, not everyone was excited to see them clash Louisville, over the Panthers on ESPN. “Biggest volleyball match of the entire conference season between 2 top 4 teams, and it’s on ACCNX. Well done,” commented an X-user. However, one fan revealed that the network may be prioritizing another sport on Friday nights.

“That game is in the Petersen Event Center too – probably going to be 10,000+ fans there, like the Pitt/Penn State game.” wrote a volleyball fan. Petersen Events Center has been the Pittsburgh Panthers’ home since 2002. And while the fans lamented about potentially missing out on the anticipated clash, they revealed why ESPN omitted it.

“Dumb rule that Friday nights on ACCN are for soccer,” the individual added. However, the fan wasn’t the only one who pointed it out. “Just double-checked the TV schedule. Looks like they’re showing two Men’s Soccer games involving ranked teams.” said another X-user corroborating those claims.

“I assume that means there is little to no chance those games get bumped in favor of Pitt Louisville.” the fan added. A glance at the ESPN broadcast schedule for Friday also shows several men’s and women’s soccer games lined up for broadcast. It seems’ ACCNX remains the only option. Did the broadcast schedule relegating the Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Louisville match disappoint you too? Write your views in the comments.