Women's Volleyball | 8/26/2026 3:30:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After winning its first league title since 2001 a season ago, Grove City College earned first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) annual preseason coaches' poll, which was released Wednesday along with the Players to Watch list.
After playing in divisions last year with 16 PAC matches, the conference shifts away from divisions this year with teams playing each PAC opponent one time each for 11 league contests. The top eight teams will qualify for the PAC Tournament.
Earning the top spot in this year's poll was defending champion Grove City with 122 points and eight first-place votes. The Wolverines, led by head coach Leo Sayles, made a surprising run in last year's PAC Tournament, entering the conference playoffs as the No. 4 seed from the North Division. Once in the postseason, Grove City went on the road to knock off Washington & Jefferon College 3-2 in the quarterfinals, sweep Thiel College 3-0 in the semifinals and take down Hiram College 3-0 in the title match to claim their 10th PAC title in program history.
As the PAC champion, Grove City made its sixth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 1986. Following a first-round loss to national power Juniata College, the Wolverines finished the year with a 20-9 record, their first 20-win season since 2019.
Hiram finished second in the preseason voting with 115 points and a pair of first-place votes. W&J came in third with one first-place vote and 96 points, followed by Chatham University in fourth with 91 points. Franciscan University (88 points, one first-place vote) and Westminster College (84 points, one first-place vote) placed fifth and sixth, respectively.
Coming in seventh was Thiel with 75 points, followed by Allegheny College in eighth (71), Saint Vincent College in ninth (52), Bethany College (33), Geneva College (26) and Waynesburg University (17). Saint Francis University was not counted in the 2026 poll, but is represented by three players on the Watch List.
The 2026 season will be Saint Francis' first in the PAC, as the Red Wolves begin conference play while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose matches will not count in the conference standings during SFU's reclassifying process, opens the new season Sept. 4th at the SUNY Morrisville Tournament in Morrisville, N.Y.
This year's Players to Watch list is highlighted by 20 returning all-conference selections from 2025, including five All-PAC First Team players, seven All-PAC Second Team selections and eight who gathered Honorable Mention recognition. The lone major award winner back on the court this season is Franciscan sophomore outside hitter Logan Hickey, who was the PAC Newcomer of the Year in 2025.
Hickey was the first Franciscan player to earn the Newcomer of the Year recognition after she was one of the top hitters in the conference. She led the PAC with 528 points to rank in the top 10 nationally. Hickey's 468 kills was first in the PAC and 10th in all of Division III, while her 4.82 kills per set is sixth in the nation. A complete six-rotation player, Hickey also brought up 323 digs, which ranked 15th in the league. In addition, she was second on the team with 30 aces and third on Franciscan with 42 blocks.
Another returning sophomore who was First Team All-PAC last year is Hiram outside hitter Sofia Smotek. She posted one of the greatest freshman seasons in the history of the program for head coach Macy Roell, who was the 2025 PAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Terriers to a 26-3 overall record, including a 15-1 PAC mark. Smotek ranked second in the PAC with 407 kills (3.84 kills/set), had double-digit kills in 26 of her 29 matches played and also ranked third on the roster with 381 digs.
The Players to Watch list also includes 21 student-athletes who made the Fall 2025 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes those on varsity sports teams who earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.
The conference regular season will conclude Nov. 7th and the PAC Tournament gets underway Tuesday, Nov. 10th with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal matches. Semifinal matches will be played Thursday, Nov. 12th and the PAC Championship Game is slated for Saturday, Nov. 14th, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament
The PAC and SPORTSPittsburgh will host the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship match of this year's Division III NCAA Tournament Dec. 2-5 at Duquesne University's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
| 2026 PAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025 record (conference) |
| 1. Grove City College (8) |
122 |
20-9 (9-7 PAC) |
| 2. Hiram College (2) |
115 |
26-3 (15-1 PAC) |
| 3. Washington & Jefferson College (1) |
96 |
16-13 (11-5 PAC) |
| 4. Chatham University |
91 |
16-9 (11-5 PAC) |
| 5. Franciscan University (1) |
88 |
12-13 (8-8 PAC) |
| 6. Westminster College (1) |
84 |
20-11 (10-6 PAC) |
| 7. Thiel College |
75 |
18-9 (11-5 PAC) |
| 8. Allegheny College |
71 |
14-13 (8-8 PAC) |
| 9. Saint Vincent College |
52 |
9-15 (7-9 PAC) |
| 10. Bethany College |
33 |
7-18 (4-12 PAC) |
| 11. Geneva College |
26 |
5-24 (2-14 PAC) |
| 12. Waynesburg University |
17 |
2-25 (0-16 PAC) |
| Saint Francis University* |
--- |
20-9 (14-2 NEC) |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school reclassifies from Division I
2026 PAC Women's Volleyball Players to Watch
1=2025 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Duru Akbas |
Sr. |
DS |
Ankara, Turkey/Layton Christian Acad. (Utah) |
| Carly Beers |
Sr. |
RS |
Warren, Pa./Warren |
| Skyler Fatola (2) |
Sr. |
MH |
Queen Creek, Ariz./Eastmark |
| Carly Pepperman (HM) |
Jr. |
OH |
Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area |
| Bethany College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Molly Brown |
Fr. |
OH |
Lancaster, Ohio/Fairfield Union |
| Megan Chesser |
Grad. |
MB |
Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready |
| Shayleigh Hornyak |
Jr. |
OPP |
Brilliant, Ohio/Buckeye Local |
| Presley Stokes |
So. |
OH |
Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville |
| Ashton Thomas |
Jr. |
MB |
Toronto, Ohio/Toronto |
| Chatham University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Becca Gesner (2) |
Sr. |
OPP |
San Diego, Calif./Valley Center |
| Delaney Schwind (HM) |
So. |
S |
Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge |
| Evelyn White (HM) |
So. |
MB |
Nolensville, Tenn./Nolensville |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Sarah Clyde |
Jr. |
MB |
Saint Paul, Minn./Saint Agnes |
| Anna Guard |
Jr. |
OH |
Lawrenceburg, Ind./St. Henry District |
| Kaitlan Hickey (2) |
Jr. |
DS |
Richmond, Ohio/Seton Home Study |
| Logan Hickey (1) |
So. |
OH |
Richmond, Ohio/Seton Home Study |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Daphne Alexander |
Sr. |
MH |
Millersburg, Ohio/West Holmes |
| Katie Seboe |
Sr. |
MH/RS |
Millersburg, Ohio/Loudonville |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Alayna Dorst (2) |
Sr. |
OH |
Middletown, Del./Middletown |
| Sarah Hart (1) |
Sr. |
OH |
Marriottsville, Md./Liberty |
| Kendra Klusch (1) |
Sr. |
MB |
Alliance, Ohio/Homeschooled |
| Lily Lagaras (HM) |
Sr. |
RS |
Crofton, Md./Crofton |
| Hiram College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Megan Chiang (2) |
So. |
OH |
Markham, Ontario/Pierre Elliott Trudeau |
| Maggie Riley (HM) |
Sr. |
RS |
Elyria, Ohio/Midview |
| Sofia Smotek (1) |
So. |
OH |
Independence, Ohio/Independence |
| Saint Francis University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ava Holden |
Sr. |
MH |
Macungie, Pa./Emmaus |
| Alexandra Sappia |
Sr. |
S |
West Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast Community |
| Lorah Thomas |
So. |
MH/OH |
Lehighton, Pa. Lehighton Area |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Madie Eagler |
Sr. |
S |
Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim |
| Aubrey Siwula |
Jr. |
OH |
Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold |
| Meegan Williams (2) |
Jr. |
OH |
Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Lyndzee Amory |
Jr. |
OPP |
Edinboro, Pa./Saegertown |
| Arin DeLattre (1) |
Sr. |
MB |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Caitlin Stephens |
Jr. |
MB |
West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex |
| Addilyn Vagi |
Fr. |
S/OPP |
Marysville, Mich./Marysville |
| Sarah Wilson |
So. |
DS |
Rural Valley, Pa./West Shamokin |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Cali Dagen (HM) |
So. |
OH/DS |
Canonsburg, Pa/Canon-McMillan |
| Sophie Little |
Sr. |
MB/OH |
Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks |
| Brielle Morehouse (2) |
Sr. |
S |
East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Bostyn Guinn |
Fr. |
S |
Dallas, Tx./Midlothian Heritage |
| Audrey Work |
Sr. |
MH |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |
| Kristina Zadrozny (HM) |
Sr. |
RS |
McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Kylie Anthony |
So. |
OH/DS |
Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford |
| Brooke Gecina |
Jr. |
OH/L |
Aurora, Ohio/Aurora |
| Morgan O'Brien (HM) |
Jr. |
S/RS |
Pittsburgh, Pa./OLSH |
| Olivia Trent |
Sr. |
OH |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood |