TAMPA, Fla. — St. Thomas opens the 2026 Sun Conference women’s volleyball season as the preseason favorite, earning 48 points and six first-place votes in the annual poll of the league’s eight head coaches.
The Bobcats enter 2026 after a historic season that saw them finish 27-5 overall and 13-1 in conference play. St. Thomas was the league’s lone qualifier for the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship, defeating Loyola New Orleans in the Opening Round before concluding its season in pool play in Sioux City, Iowa. The Bobcats also made history during the regular season, setting the NAIA regular-season attendance record with a crowd of 2,307.
St. Thomas has claimed the Sun Conference Regular Season title in each of the last five seasons and enters 2026 seeking its fifth consecutive Sun Conference Tournament Championship.
Southeastern is voted second in this year’s poll with 41 points and one first-place vote. The Fire are coming off a 21-5 season in which they went 11-3 in conference play and were the only Sun Conference team to defeat St. Thomas.
New College of Florida earned 37 points and the final first-place vote to place third. The Mighty Banyans continued their rise in 2025, finishing 20-5 overall and 10-4 in conference play before advancing to the Sun Conference Tournament Championship match, where they pushed St. Thomas to five sets.
Keiser rounds out the top half of the preseason poll with 34 points. Ave Maria earned 24 points to place fifth, followed by Webber International with 17 points and Warner with 16 points.
Florida Memorial earned seven points to complete the preseason rankings.
First non-conference action begins Friday, August 14, with conference play set to open Friday, September 4. The 2026 Sun Conference Volleyball Tournament is scheduled to begin Tuesday, November 10, and conclude Friday, November 13.
| 2026 Sun Conference Volleyball Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
Team |
Points
(first-place votes) |
2025 Conference Record |
2025 Overall Record |
| 1 |
St. Thomas |
48 (6) |
13-1 |
27-5 |
| 2 |
Southeastern |
41 (1) |
11-3 |
21-5 |
| 3 |
New College |
37 (1) |
10-4 |
20-5 |
| 4 |
Keiser |
34 |
7-7 |
13-12 |
| 5 |
Ave Maria |
24 |
7-7 |
9-15 |
| 6 |
Webber Int'l |
17 |
3-11 |
8-23 |
| 7 |
Warner |
16 |
4-10 |
10-14 |
| 8 |
Florida Memorial |
7 |
1-13 |
1-23 |
Key Links
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now in its 36th year, The Sun Conference — a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1990 — is a leading member of the NAIA. The league’s 10 full-member institutions across Florida and Georgia compete in 24 championship sports. Under Commissioner Dustin Wilke, The Sun continues to raise the standard in collegiate athletics. Learn more at thesunconference.com.
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