LEXINGTON, Ky. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team received votes in the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/Taraflex Division III Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll, as released on Thursday afternoon.

Coming off a season that ended with a five-set loss to then second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, St. Olaf received 155 points in the preseason balloting, leaving the Oles as the first team outside the top 25. After receiving votes in nine consecutive polls, St. Olaf was tied for 24th in the final poll of 2025.

In its first season under head coach Emma Nelson, the Oles will look to build off last season's 27-9 record that included a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title with a perfect 11-0 record for the first time since 1996. St. Olaf also won its first NCAA Tournament match since 2010 by sweeping the University of Northwestern in the first round.

St. Olaf (155) and Gustavus Adolphus College (112) were the lone MIAC programs to receive votes in the preseason poll. The Oles will open the 2026 season with four matches at the WashU Bear Invitational in St. Louis, Mo. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5.