By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After the closest conference title race in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history last fall, the 2026 volleyball preseason coaches poll reflected a similar sentiment with Simon Fraser narrowly at the top upon its release on Tuesday.
 
The Red Leafs, who were among the four teams that tied for the 2025 regular-season title, earned 90 points including a pair of first-place votes to earn the preseason stake by two points. Central Washington took the majority of first-place votes with six and finished right behind SFU with 88 points, while Alaska received the other two first-place votes and totaled 84 points for third place in the preseason conference rankings.
 
Five GNAC teams were featured in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason top-25 poll which was released on Monday. GNAC preseason favorite Simon Fraser was the top-ranked team checking in at 15, while Alaska was right behind at T-16. Also in the top-25 was No. 20 Western Washington, while Central Washington and Alaska Anchorage were each among the teams also receiving votes.
 

2026 GNAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2025 Record	2025 GNAC Record (Finish)
1	Simon Fraser (2)	90	20-5	14-4 (T1st)
2	Central Washington (6)	88	19-8	14-4 (T1st)
3	Alaska (2)	84	24-6	14-4 (T1st)
4	Western Washington	73	19-7	13-5 (5th)
5	Alaska Anchorage	60	23-6	14-4 (T1st)
6	Seattle Pacific	41	12-14	7-11 (T6th)
7	Northwest Nazarene	39	6-19	5-13 (8th)
8	Saint Martin's	38	14-12	7-11 (T6th)
9	Western Oregon	26	3-23	2-16 (9th)
10	Montana State Billings	11	2-22	0-18 (10th)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

 
Not only did last year’s title race feature the first-ever four-way tie for first place – in any sport – in GNAC history, but the fifth-place team finished just one game behind the co-champions. Alongside SFU, CWU and UAF at the top of last year’s standings at 14-4 was Alaska Anchorage, with Western Washington taking fifth with a record of 13-5. All five teams – who each qualified for last year’s NCAA West Region Championships – earned spots in the top-five in this year’s preseason poll.
 
Simon Fraser earned a share of its first-ever GNAC volleyball title last season, going 20-5 overall. The Red Leafs earned their second consecutive berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, where their season came to a conclusion with a five-set defeat against Central Washington in the opening round. Under the guidance of Gina Schmidt, who is the fourth-winningest volleyball coach in conference history, SFU will look for its first outright conference crown. Schmidt holds a record of 194-125 (.608) overall and 138-88 (.611) in conference play in her 13 years leading the team since the fall of 2013.
 
Also going 14-4 during conference play last year, Central Washington made it two consecutive seasons with a piece of GNAC hardware after winning the title outright in the fall of 2024. The Wildcats posted an overall record of 19-8 in 2025, knocking off the Red Leafs before falling in five sets to Fresno Pacific in the second round of the regionals. Mario Andaya completed his 30-year coaching tenure as the second-winningest coach in conference history, going 427-231 (.649) overall and 302-134 (.693) in league play since the GNAC was formed in 2001. Long-time assistant coach Lauren Herseth, who competed for Andaya, was promoted to head coach and will look to keep CWU’s streak of appearing in every NCAA tournament since 2012 alive.
 
The Alaska Nanooks made their first-ever NCAA regional championship appearance last fall, with a 14-4 conference record also giving them their first-ever share for the conference title. Brian Scott led Alaska to a 24-6 overall record, including a win over Alaska Anchorage in the opening round before a defeat against Point Loma to close the campaign. Entering his 12th season in Fairbanks, Scott is 143-143 (.500) overall – including 95-55 (.633) over his last five seasons – and has gone 84-100 (.457) in conference play.
 
Earning the fourth spot in the preseason poll was Western Washington, which made its return to the NCAA regional championship falling to Fresno Pacific in the opening round. It was WWU’s conference-leading 17th NCAA tournament appearance, with the team going 19-7 overall on the campaign. WWU enters the 2026 season with a GNAC-leading 10 conference titles, the most recent of which coming during the 2021 fall season. Diane Flick-Williams has set the gold standard as the conference’s all-time volleyball wins leader. Since the league was formed in 2001 she has posted a record of 525-147 (.781) including 371-65 (.851) in conference matches. She begins her 27th overall season at WWU this fall.
 
Earning 60 points and appearing fifth in the preseason poll was Alaska Anchorage, which picked up a share of its fifth GNAC title last year. The Seawolves went 23-6 overall with their season concluding in the opening round of the national tournament with the defeat against the Nanooks. Former All-American and 2016 GNAC Player of the Year Morgan Hooe takes the reigns for her first season leading her alma mater, which ranks second with five GNAC titles. Hooe was the starting setter on the Seawolf squad that was defeated in the NCAA Division II national championship match in 2016, tying for the best-ever finish by a GNAC volleyball team.
 
Three years removed from its most recent conference title, Seattle Pacific occupied the sixth spot in the preseason poll with 41 points. The Falcons tied for sixth last year with a conference record of 7-11 and went 12-14 overall to finish narrowly below .500. Jason Rhine will begin his fifth season in charge in the Emerald City, holding an overall record of 57-48 (.543) and a 44-28 (.611) GNAC mark since taking over in 2022.
 
Picked seventh in the preseason poll was Northwest Nazarene, which totaled 39 points. The Nighthawks went 6-19 in 2025 and placed eighth in the conference standings with a league record of 5-13. They edged out Saint Martin’s by just a single point, with the Saints earning 38 to be picked eighth in the preseason poll. SMU tied the Falcons for sixth last year at 7-11 in conference play, while going 14-12 overall. For NNU, Doug English begins his 14th season at 161-155 (.509) overall and 122-104 (.540) in conference play, while SMU’s Haley Domeck looks for another winning campaign in her second season in charge.
 
Western Oregon will look to improve upon last year’s ninth-place conference finish, as it went 3-23 overall and 2-16 in league play. The Wolves claimed 26 points as the coaches projected them to finish ninth in the preseason rankings. Kaiao Nahale-a will begin his fifth season leading the pack going 37-68 (.352) and 18-54 (.250) in conference play since taking over in 2022. Completing the preseason poll ranked 10th was Montana State Billings, which went 2-22 overall and 0-18 in league play last year. Scott Keister is back for his second season leading the Yellowjackets.
 
The 2026 GNAC volleyball season officially kicks off this week, with Alaska Anchorage and Alaska each competing in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Hilo, Hawaii. Matches run Thursday-Saturday with both the Seawolves and Nanooks slated to play four contests. After a busy three weeks of non-conference action, the 18-match GNAC schedule and race to the 2026 conference crown begins on Sept. 10. All contests hosted by GNAC schools will air live on the GNAC Network, with single-match and season-long purchase packages available online here.
 
The winner of the GNAC regular-season title earns the conference’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA West Region Championships, which run Nov. 19-22 on campus sites. The 2026 Division II NCAA Volleyball Championships are Dec. 3-5 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The complete 2026 GNAC volleyball schedule can be viewed online here.