Newtown, Pa. (Women's Volleyball) - The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth coaches have released their preseason poll ahead of the 2026 women's volleyball season, and defending conference champion Stevenson is the top pick to repeat.
Stevenson claimed four of the nine possible first-place votes and totaled 59 points to top the preseason poll. The Mustangs enter the season looking to defend the program's first-ever MAC Commonwealth title, won last November in a five-set thriller over top-seeded Eastern.
Eastern was picked second with 57 points and three first-place votes of its own, followed by Messiah in third with 55 points and two first-place votes — the closest three-way spread at the top of any MAC Commonwealth preseason poll. Widener rounds out the top four at 39 points, with York fifth at 32.
The full preseason order: Stevenson (59 points, 4 first-place votes), Eastern (57, 3), Messiah (55, 2), Widener (39), York (32), Neumann (30), Hood (27), Alvernia (14) and Albright (11).
2026 MAC Commonwealth Season Preview
Stevenson enters the fall as the defending champion after a season that delivered the program's first-ever MAC Commonwealth title, a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over top-seeded Eastern capped by Tournament MVP Giulia Viglietta. Viglietta graduates, but the Mustangs return a strong nucleus in First Team junior-turned-senior middle hitter Logan Burge and Second Team sophomore-turned-junior outside hitter Rachel Lenz, giving second-year head coach Emma Lorenzen a proven core to build the title defense around.
Eastern and Messiah sit right behind in what was the tightest top of the poll in recent memory. Eastern will need to replace a huge senior class, including reigning MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year Hannah Pringle and Co-Defensive Player of the Year Viviana Fragoso, but returns First Team junior-turned-senior outside hitter Alexis Standford and Honorable Mention junior-turned-senior Jessie Schreiber, giving longtime head coach Mark Birtwistle — last year's Coach of the Year — pieces to work with as the Eagles look to reach a fourth straight championship match. Messiah brings back the most complete returning core of any team in the poll: First Team junior-turned-senior setter Cassidy Dell and sophomore-turned-junior outside hitter Makenzie Adams, along with Second Team returners Katie Quesenberry and Cynthia Boller, both juniors heading into their senior seasons.
Widener and York round out the group looking to push into the top tier. Widener will need to replace Co-Defensive Player of the Year Elizabeth Barnes and Second Team outside hitter Azira Benjamin, both graduated seniors, while York returns 2025 MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year Sami Baer, a libero who earned Honorable Mention honors as a true freshman and now heads into her sophomore season.
Further down the poll, Neumann, Hood, Alvernia and Albright will be looking to climb into postseason position. Hood reached the 2025 tournament as the No. 4 seed but will need to replace Second Team outside hitter Ann Ofoegbu, a graduated senior who anchored the Blazers' attack.
2025 MAC Commonwealth Championship Notes
Eastern entered the 2025 MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the No. 1 seed and advanced to the championship match with a three-set win over Hood, extending the Eagles' streak of reaching the title match to 30 straight seasons under head coach Mark Birtwistle. But Stevenson, the No. 2 seed, had other plans. After a 3-1 semifinal win over Messiah, the Mustangs outlasted Eastern in a five-set championship thriller, rallying from a 2-1 deficit before closing it out 3-2 to claim the program's first-ever conference title under second-year head coach Emma Lorenzen. Senior outside hitter Giulia Viglietta, who sealed the win with a kill in the decisive fifth set, was named MAC Commonwealth Tournament MVP. The victory sent Stevenson to the NCAA Division III Tournament with the conference's automatic bid.
2026 Season Schedule
The MAC Commonwealth is expanding its postseason field to five teams for 2026, adding a play-in game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds ahead of the semifinals.
- Play-in game (No. 4 vs. No. 5): November 10, 2026
- Semifinals: November 12, 2026
- Championship: November 14, 2026