MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's volleyball program has been stacking NCAA Tournaments on Midwest Conference championships with regularity since the Rams' re-entrance into the MWC in 2012.
On the heels of their fifth straight NCAA appearance and 13th consecutive MWC title, to no surprise
Jeff Meeker's Rams are projected to continue their reign of conference supremacy this fall.
Cornell is the favorite in the
2026 MWC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 79 points and seven first-place votes. Top challenger Lawrence is picked a close second with 75 points and three first-place nods in the 10-team league, which welcomes the addition of Luther this year.
"This will be a fun team to watch play," said Meeker, who has accumulated 456 wins through 24 seasons on the Hilltop. "I think we will bring a great mix of joy, effort, connectivity and competitiveness to the court. I really love our team because of how much they love volleyball and support and love each other."
Despite the graduation of honorable mention all-America libero
Ella Becker, Meeker loves his returning pieces from last year's 19-11 team that extended an impressive MWC winning streak to 50 matches.
The Rams return five all-conference performers, led by a trio of 2025 first teamers in senior setter
Nia Howard (567 assists, 79 aces), junior middle blocker
Ally Olmstead (259 kills, team-high 323 points) and sophomore middle blocker/right side
Selia Stein (126 blocks).
Howard stands No. 6 on Cornell's career list with 181 aces. Olmstead is a two-time all-conference selection. Stein ranked No. 15 nationally in blocks last season.
Sophomore outside hitter
Hannah Cantwell (235 kills, 340 digs) and junior right side
Mia Tubbs (239 kills, 73 blocks) earned second team all-MWC recognition a year ago. Sophomore outside hitter
Ashlin Nottestad (team-high 267 kills) was a regular starter during a strong rookie campaign.
Senior defensive specialist
Kensie Staats (195 digs), sophomore setter
Grace Tverberg (431 assists) and junior middle blocker
Lizzy Kaus are among other key players back in the fold.
"We return most of our team and had a great spring of training, competition and travel," Meeker said. "Getting to travel and compete internationally (in Canada) helped our team grow closer together and helped us apply our important areas of progress."
The Rams tackle another daunting schedule featuring six opponents who played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, headlined by a Sept. 12 road trip to defending national champion UW-Oshkosh. Cornell meets four other returning NCAA qualifiers (Saint Benedict Sept. 5, UW-Whitewater Sept. 11, Dubuque Sept. 16, Gustavus Adolphus Sept. 18) over the opening three weeks of the season.
Cornell begins the new campaign Sept. 4 with a neutral-site match at 5 p.m. against St. Catherine in Pella. The Rams play Saint Benedict and Central Sept. 5, also both in Pella.
The home opener is Sept. 18 with matches against Gustavus Adolphus at 2:30 p.m. and St. Norbert at 7:30 p.m.
"We are very excited about the season and the challenges ahead," Meeker said. "As usual, we'll play a bunch of nationally-ranked opponents. We're excited to play the defending national champs (UW-Oshkosh) on their home court. We'll also see some very tough competition in Midwest Conference play."
