Volleyball

2026 MIAC Volleyball Season Preview

FARMINGTON, Minn. – Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) volleyball teams are back on the court and ready for the 2026 season.
 
The fall season officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 1, with four non-conference matches, followed by nearly two dozen contests slated for Friday, September 4. While a handful of MIAC squads will stay home to host contests on opening weekend, others will log travel time, with matches as close as Iowa and Wisconsin and as far as California, Oregon, and Texas. Conference play gets underway on September 23. The regular season will run through Saturday, November 7.
 
The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will move on to the 2026 MIAC Volleyball Playoffs. The conference tournament will begin with two quarterfinal contests on Tuesday, November 10, followed by a pair of semifinal matches on Thursday, November 12. The 2026 MIAC Volleyball Playoff Championship is set for Saturday, November 14, with the winner securing the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship is scheduled for December 2-5, 2026, at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
The bracket for the national tournament will be unveiled during the Selection Show on Monday, November 16. After the automatic qualifiers have been awarded to conference champions across Division III, the remaining NCAA Tournament qualifiers will be selected "at-large" via the NCAA Power Index (NPI). The Women’s Volleyball NPI will calculate winning percentage, strength of schedule, home-away results, and quality wins to rank teams for at-large postseason consideration.
2025 FINAL STANDINGS
St. Olaf (11-0, 27-9)*%
Gustavus (9-2, 24-8)%
Saint Benedict (9-2, 21-7)#%
Bethel (7-4, 15-11)
St. Catherine (6-5, 10-17)
Augsburg (5-6, 11-19)
St. Scholastica (5-6, 14-13)
Hamline (4-7, 9-15)
Saint Mary’s (4-7, 11-16)
Carleton (2-9, 4-21)
Concordia (2-9, 7-17)
Macalester (2-9, 5-20)
 
*MIAC Regular Season Champion
#MIAC Playoff Champion
%NCAA Championship Participant
RULE CHANGES
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) has reviewed and approved a handful of rule changes for implementation during the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Referees may now consult the official match statistics to resolve a scoring discrepancy during matches. Additionally, teams will change sides of the court at the end of the second set. At the coin toss before the fifth set, the team that wins the toss may choose to serve, receive, or side of the court. Teams will remain on their respective side of the court for the fifth set. The number of substitutions per set has also increased from 15 to 18.
MIAC SPORTS NETWORK
The MIAC Sports Network powered by Hudl returns as the streaming home of all MIAC-hosted games, events, and championships. The MIAC Sports Network is available on the web (https://miacsportsnetwork.com/) along with streaming apps for television and mobile devices, including Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku (TV), iOS, Android (mobile), and Amazon Fire Tablet. The app can be found and installed free of charge by searching for the MIAC Sports Network.
 
The 2026 MIAC Volleyball Playoffs will again be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Details and information on purchasing pay-per-view access will be made available in advance of the conference playoffs. Access and availability of regular-season match streams will not be impacted by this policy change.
MIAC MOBILE
MIAC fans can catch every score, stat, and update on the go by bookmarking the MIAC Scoreboard on their mobile devices.
AWARD WATCH
The 2026 MIAC Volleyball All-Conference honors will be voted on by MIAC coaches after the regular season. In addition to a 22-player All-MIAC squad, coaches will also vote on individual awards for the MIAC Offensive, Defensive, Rookie, and Coach of the Year.
 
Throughout the regular season, the MIAC will recognize top individual performances with the MIAC Volleyball Offensive and Specialist (Defensive/Setter) of the Week awards. Athlete of the Week awards will begin on Tuesday, September 8, and be announced each Monday following through the end of the regular season. During the week following the MIAC Playoffs, participating coaches will also select a nine-player All-Playoff Team in recognition of outstanding performances throughout the conference tournament.
FOR THE RECORD
The online MIAC Volleyball Record Book features historical standings, all-time award winners, record information, and more. The information included in the record book is based on available data and research for additional historical documents is ongoing.
LOOKING AHEAD
First Non-Conference Match Date: Tuesday, September 1
First Conference Match Date: Wednesday, September 23
MIAC Playoffs: Tuesday, November 10 (QF), Thursday, November 12 (SF), Saturday, November 14 (Championship)
Season Links: Standings | Schedule | News | Statistics | Athletes of the Week | Playoffs | Record Book