Carroll volleyball picked fifth in Frontier preseason poll

HELENA, Mont. – The Frontier Conference has released its 2026 volleyball preseason coaches poll. Carroll College enters the season selected fifth in the tally of the league's head coaches.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. First place is worth 11 points, second place is worth 10 points, third place is worth nine points, and so on to last place with one point.

Coming off a sixth-place finish in 2025 with a 17-14 overall record and 12-10 mark in conference play, the Fighting Saints begin the season in fifth place after receiving 80 points in the poll.

The coaches poll nearly mirrors the finish of last year's final tally, with all eight of the postseason-eligible teams appearing inside the top eight of the preseason ranks. MSU-Northern finished last season at No. 3 in the league standings, but appears at No. 7 in the preseason poll. All other teams appear in their final standings from 2025.

The 2026 NAIA season officially opens on Friday, and the Saints will jump right into action on day one. Carroll will head to Bourbonnais, Ill., to compete in the Tigers Kickoff Invite, hosted by Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). Three games await the Saints on the first two days of the season, as they take on Grace (Ind.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).

The 22-match Frontier Conference volleyball schedule starts in the first week of September. The top eight teams in the conference standings will advance to the postseason tournament held at PE Center in Helena, hosted by Carroll on Nov. 12-14.

The league will be awarded two automatic bids to the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament. The regular-season champion will receive the first automatic bid. The second berth will be awarded to the Frontier Conference tournament champion. In the event the regular-season champion is the tournament champion, the second berth will be awarded to the tournament's runner-up.

2026 Frontier Conference women's volleyball coaches preseason poll

1. Providence (Mont.) (9) – 118
2. Bellevue (Neb.) (3) – 113
3. Montana Tech – 97
4. Dakota State (S.D.) – 87
5. Carroll (Mont.) – 80
6. Montana Western – 65
7. MSU-Northern – 63
8. Valley City State (N.D.) – 51
9. Dickinson State (N.D.) – 49
10. Bismarck State (N.D.) – 33
11. Mayville State (N.D.) – 20
12. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) – 16