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. 

WU and UNK, 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.

The MIAA is now a 13-team volleyball conference with Northeastern State University sponsoring the sport of volleyball for the first time. The Riverhawks are located in Tahlequah, Okla.

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. UNK 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 Lopers start their 2026 season this Thursday vs. Colorado Mesa (4 p.m.) at the Dallas Classic in Texas. 

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.
 
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.