KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announces its preseason rankings for the 2026 volleyball season. Four teams received at least two first-place votes from MIAA head coaches, but it was Washburn and Nebraska Kearney that topped the preseason poll as the favorites to reclaim the MIAA crown in the 2026 season.
 
It was a close battle for the top spot in the 2026 MIAA volleyball preseason coaches poll. Washburn and Nebraska Kearney, two of the three defending regular season champions, tied for the No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings with 134 points apiece. The Ichabods earned a slight advantage with five first-place selections from MIAA head coaches while the Lopers received four first-place votes.
 
Missouri Western and Emporia State also received a pair of first-place votes from MIAA head coaches. The Griffons earned the No. 3 spot in the poll with 123 points while the Hornets finished fourth with 107 points. Central Oklahoma capped the coaches’ top five teams with 104 points. Central Missouri was picked sixth with 90 points, followed by Pittsburg State in seventh (81 points), Fort Hays State in eighth (63 points), Northwest Missouri in ninth (57 points), Missouri Southern in 10th (46 points), Arkansas-Fort Smith in 11th (40 points), Newman in 12th (23 points) and Northeastern State in 13th (12 points). 

The MIAA is now a 13-team volleyball conference with Northeastern State University sponsoring the sport of volleyball for the first time in the 2026 season.
 
Washburn, Nebraska Kearney and Missouri Western each finished the 2025 regular season with MIAA records of 13-3 for a share of the regular season championship. Nebraska Kearney went on to win its first MIAA tournament title since 2019 and host the 2025 NCAA Central Region Championship, where they suffered a 3-1 loss to St. Cloud State in the Regional Semifinals with an overall record of 30-4.

The Ichabods also ended their 2025 season in the Regional Semifinals with a 3-0 loss to Concordia-St. Paul, ending their season with an overall record of 28-6. Missouri Western (21-8) and Central Oklahoma (27-6, 12-4 MIAA) also advance to the 2025 NCAA postseason and suffered first-round losses in the Central Region Championship.
 
Washburn returns only three of its seven All-MIAA selections from the 2025 season, highlighted by Second Team All-MIAA selections Taylor Rottinghaus (Sr., L/DS)and Brynne Topolski (Jr., OH). The Lopers also return just three of their seven All-MIAA selections, including First Team All-MIAA selection Carly Purdy (Sr., OH), and Second Team All-MIAA selections Brynn Stowell (Jr., OH) and Ellie Spang (Sr., L/DS).
 
The reigning MIAA Libero of the Year, Kaitlyn Parrott, is back on Central Oklahoma’s 2026 roster. The senior libero finished the 2025 season with a conference-leading 643 digs and ranked second in the league with 47 service aces. The reigning MIAA Freshman of the Year, Emporia State’s Lavra Krizanic, also returns with the Hornets this season. In her first year of collegiate volleyball, Krizanic ranked in the MIAA’s top 20 in kills per set (2.66 ) and points per set (3.22). She also averaged 2.2 digs per set and totaled 49 blocks on the year.
 
The first official matches of the 2026 NCAA Division II volleyball season begin this Thursday, August 27, with the first conference matches scheduled to begin on September 16. The 2026 NCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship will take place December 3-5 at the historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the NCAA Division II Fall Festival.
 
To view week-by-week schedules for all 13 MIAA volleyball programs, visit theMIAA.com/volleyball.