SummitVBFan | Covering Summit League Volleyball

Summit League play is underway! We recap South Dakota State’s rivalry sweep at South Dakota, Omaha’s 2–0 start, and an opening win for Kansas City. Then we look at the updated computer rankings and the week ahead. USD and SDSU both travel to Omaha and St. Thomas on Thursday and Saturday. Nothing easy about that trip.

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Non-conference play is complete, so it’s time for the Summit League Volleyball Midterm Report! 🏐 I’m breaking down all eight teams as we get ready for conference play: 🏐 Who exceeded preseason expectations? 📊 Where do all 8 teams stand in the computer rankings? ⭐ Players who stood out during non-conference play 💎 My Hidden Gems to Watch during Summit play 📈 The league’s statistical leaders 🎟️ Early NCAA Tournament outlook 👀 What I’ll be watching when conference play begins The Summit finished non-conference play 45-40 — 14 wins better than preseason projections — and six of the eight teams exceeded expectations. Now the fun really begins.

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Where does Summit League volleyball stand heading into the final stretch of non-conference play? We take a full look at the league through the numbers: 🏐 Current Massey & FigStats RPI rankings 🏐 Summit League Top 100 wins 🏐 South Dakota’s rise to #13 among Non-Power 4 programs 🏐 The race for a winning non-conference record 🏐 Remaining non-conference schedule & Massey projections 🏐 Huge opportunities for South Dakota & South Dakota State against Minnesota and Washington in Sioux Falls 🏐 Top 3 Summit players in hitting %, kills, assists, aces, blocks, digs & points The Summit enters the final week of non-conference play at 37-29, just 6 wins away from guaranteeing a winning non-conference record. The numbers are...

Another busy day around Summit League volleyball! 🏐

On today’s show:

🏆 Peak Performers of the Week — Sylvie Zgonc and Sierra Pokharel earn Summit League honors.

🔥 Sylvie Zgonc is on an incredible run — among the national leaders in kills, kills/set, points and points/set.

👏 Milestone Watch — St. Thomas setter Morgan Kealy reaches 3,000 career assists, while South Dakota’s Avery Van Hook joins the 1,000 career digs club.

👥 Fans are showing up — a look at the Top 5 Summit League home crowds so far, including SDSU’s record-setting 5,113 against Nebraska.

⚔️ Mayor’s Cup Preview — Oral Robert...

What a Saturday for Summit League volleyball! 🏐

The Summit goes an incredible 7-1, including FOUR Massey upset wins on a monster day for the conference.

🔥 South Dakota takes down Northern Iowa in 5
🔥 North Dakota State beats UNLV in 5
🔥 Oral Roberts knocks off Cal State Fullerton, 3-1
🔥 North Dakota flips the script on Mercer, 3-1
🔥 South Dakota State sweeps Bradley
🔥 Omaha dominates Chicago State
🔥 Kansas City beats Evansville, 3-1

I recap all 8 matches, break down the biggest performances and hand out My 3 Match Balls from each match.

The Summit improves to...

A BIG one in Vermillion headlines an eight-match Saturday across Summit League volleyball! 🏐

#76 South Dakota hosts #56 Northern Iowa in a Top-80 showdown. The Coyotes enter at 4-1, while UNI was picked to win the Missouri Valley and has four preseason All-MVC selections. Massey gives the Panthers a 64% chance to win and projects a five-set battle.

We preview all 8 Summit matches:

🏐 Kansas City vs. Evansville
🏐 North Dakota State vs. UNLV
🏐 Oral Roberts vs. Cal State Fullerton
🏐 South Dakota State vs. Bradley
🏐 Omaha vs. Chicago State
🏐 #76 So...

A BIG Friday for Summit League volleyball! 🏐 The league finishes 7-3, with several impressive wins and some monster individual performances.🔥 Sylvie Zgonc puts together an incredible two-match day for SDSU🔥 Oral Roberts takes down Gonzaga in 5🔥 NDSU sweeps Idaho State🔥 South Dakota State goes 2-0🔥 South Dakota beats Air Force🔥 Omaha sweeps Louisiana Tech🔥 Kansas City splits its two matchesI recap all 10 matches, break down the biggest performances, and hand out My 3 Match Balls from each match.The Summit entered Friday projected by Massey to go 7-3 — and finished exactly 7-3.

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A HUGE Friday is coming in Summit League volleyball! 🏐

I recap all 6 matches from Thursday and then preview all 10 matches on Friday’s schedule, including Massey projections, players to watch, and what each matchup could mean for the Summit.

Friday’s slate includes:

South Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Kansas City vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
St. Thomas vs. UIC
North Dakota State vs. Idaho State
Omaha vs. Louisiana Tech
North Dakota vs. Mercer
South Dakota State vs. Northern Arizona
South Dakota vs. Air Force
Kansas City vs...

We’re previewing the Wednesday and Thursday Summit League volleyball slate, headlined by South Dakota State hosting #1 Nebraska in a historic night at First Bank & Trust Arena. But there’s plenty more to watch over the next two days: 🏐 SDSU vs. #1 Nebraska — The Huskers just swept #2 Texas and now head to Brookings. 🏐 St. Thomas vs. Montana State — The Tommies return home looking for win No. 1. 🏐 Oral Roberts vs. Eastern Washington — A battle of 3-0 teams in Spokane. 🏐 Omaha vs. Western Michigan — A Top-100 opportunity for the Mavericks at home. 🏐 South Dakota vs. Utah Valley — The Coyotes return to Vermillion looking to get back in the wi...

Opening weekend is officially in the books, and we have plenty to talk about across Summit League volleyball! We’re recapping all non-conference matches from Sunday, handing out our Match Balls for the top performances, and taking our first look at the Summit League individual leaders after Week 1. Who impressed? Who surprised? And what did we learn about the league after the first weekend? 🏐 Match-by-match results and takeaways 🏐 Our top Match Ball performances 🏐 Early league leaders in points, hitting %, assists, blocks & digs 🏐 Updated non-conference tracker 🏐 What it all means heading into Week 2

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We preview four more matches on the Sunday schedule: 🏐 #69 South Dakota vs. #94 DePaul — The Coyotes are 2-0 and Massey gives them a 61% chance to make it 3-0. 🏐 #64 South Dakota State vs. #100 Villanova — Another résumé opportunity for the Jacks against one of the preseason favorites in the Big East. 🏐 #293 North Dakota vs. #317 Chicago State — Something has to give between two teams looking for their first win of 2026. 🏐 #131 St. Thomas at #74 Wyoming — A difficult road test for the Tommies against a Wyoming team coming off a 3-1 win over Texas Tech. We break down the Massey rankings and projections, opponent rosters, preseason awa...

The Summit League finished 4-4 on Saturday, but the record doesn't tell the entire story.

🏐 Oral Roberts moves to 3-0 after surviving another five-set battle.
🏐 North Dakota State improves to 2-0 with an impressive sweep.
🏐 South Dakota moves to 2-0 behind a balanced offensive attack.
🏐 Omaha bounces back with a dominant .380 hitting performance and a sweep.
🏐 St. Thomas and North Dakota suffer five-set heartbreakers after battling back.
🏐 Plus, we hand out the Impact 3 from each match and highlight the biggest individual performances of the day.

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After an exciting opening Friday, we’re back to preview all eight Summit League matches on Saturday.

We break down every matchup, the latest Massey rankings, win probabilities, projected results and the opponent you need to know.

Saturday’s slate:

The headliner comes in Malibu, where #78 South Dakota State gets an earl...

What a start for Summit League volleyball.

Nine matches. Seven wins. Two Massey upsets. And some huge individual performances to open the 2026 season.

South Dakota went on the road and knocked off Drake. North Dakota State won a five-set thriller at Tulane. SDSU and Kansas City survived five-set battles, Oral Roberts went 2-0, and we handed out three match balls from every match.

Let’s recap all nine.

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College volleyball is officially back! 🏐

The Summit League opens the 2026 season on Friday with seven programs in action and nine non-conference matches.

On this Opening Day preview show, we break down every matchup, including:

🏐 Kansas City vs. Jackson State
🏐 Oral Roberts vs. Stonehill
🏐 Kansas City vs. UT Martin
🏐 Oral Roberts vs. Nicholls
🏐 North Dakota vs. Eastern Washington
🏐 South Dakota State vs. Sacramento State
🏐 South Dakota at Drake
🏐 North Dakota State at Tulane
🏐 Omaha at Washington State

We’ll look at the Massey...

What a story it was in 2025. In its first season eligible for the Division I postseason, St. Thomas reached the NCAA Tournament. Now the challenge is doing it again. Head coach Thanh Pham enters his 24th season leading the Tommies and joins SummitVBFan to talk about reloading after losing nine seniors. There’s plenty coming back, led by two-time Summit League Setter of the Year Morgan Kealy, All-Freshman selection Anya Schmidt, and do-it-all Ellie Gustafson. St. Thomas has also added a large group of transfers and freshmen as the Tommies look to build on their breakthrough season.

The momentum is building in Fargo. NDSU went 11-2 at home last season, won all five of its five-set matches and finished 10-6 in the Summit League. Now the Bison return three All-Summit honorees, bring back one of the league's most experienced rosters and add an intriguing group of newcomers. Head Coach Jennifer Lopez joins SummitVBFan to talk about the 2026 Bison, what she learned from last season, the newcomers and what it will take for NDSU to take another step in a Summit League that has earned two NCAA Tournament bids in each of the last two seasons.

A new era of North Dakota volleyball is underway. New Fighting Hawks head coach David Nguyen joins SummitVBFan to discuss his young roster, building a winning culture in Grand Forks, and the challenge of competing in a really good Summit League. Plus, An den Hamer led UND with 20 kills in today’s exhibition.

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For Matt Buttermore, it starts with maximizing the potential of every player. After averaging 12+ Summit wins over seven years, that philosophy continues with a talented 2026 group led by Faith Venable.

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South Dakota enters 2026 with high expectations and an experienced roster returning 98% of its points from last season. Head coach Leanne Williamson, the Summit League’s all-time wins leader, joins SummitVBFan to discuss the expectations in Vermillion, her veteran roster, key returners, newcomers, and what it will take for the Coyotes to make another run at the top of the Summit League.

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Oral Roberts head coach Nolan Albrecht joins SummitVBFan to preview the 2026 Golden Eagles. We discuss the growth of the program this offseason, what Coach Albrecht learned during his first season at ORU, the development of Cortnee Smith, and what he expects from the Golden Eagles in 2026.

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The Golden Eagles return just 25% of last season’s points and 21% of sets played after finishing 3-25 overall and 1-15 in Summit League play. The biggest returning piece is Cortnee Smith, a Summit League Second Team selection who averaged 3.03 kills per set last season. Beyond Smith, however, there are new faces everywhere. ORU rebuilt through both the transfer portal and freshman recruiting, adding Olivia Burns and Quincey McCoy from Eastern Washington, Tarcy Mayah from Chicago State, Sienna Wnetrzak from UT Martin, and several intriguing freshmen. In this preview, I break down: Just how extensive the roster turnover is Every po...

College volleyball will look a little different in 2026.

On this episode of SummitVBFan, I break down the new NCAA women’s volleyball rules and what fans should watch for this season.

We’ll cover the changes you’re most likely to notice, including fewer bench switches, the new center-line rule, video review changes, serving-team screening, the new pursuit rule and more.

No rulebook required — just a quick look at what’s changing before the first serve of the 2026 season.

🏐 Summit League...

After back-to-back difficult seasons, Kansas City enters 2026 looking to change the direction of the program.

Head coach Christi Posey is back for her 16th season after a 3-26 campaign, but this is a program that isn't far removed from going 22-9 overall and 12-4 in the Summit League in 2023.

There are plenty of questions, but also some intriguing pieces.

Ryanne Wattree returns after leading the Roos in kills last season. Mia Weaver and Emry Brown bring experience back on the outside, while Kansas City...

A new era begins for North Dakota volleyball in 2026.

New head coach David Nguyen takes over a Fighting Hawks program looking to climb the Summit League standings, and he’ll do it with an almost completely rebuilt roster. UND returns just 19% of its points and 37% of its sets played from last season after losing First Team All-Summit outside hitter Paige Barber and several other key contributors.

But there are plenty of new faces to watch.

In this preview, I break down the roster position-by-position, in...

College volleyball deserves a bigger voice.

SummitVBFan was created to help tell the stories of Summit League volleyball — eight programs, passionate communities, great players and coaches, and a league trying to make its mark on the national stage.

The volleyball is big-time, but it still feels like what college athletics was meant to be.

Whether you already have a favorite team or you're discovering the Summit League for the first time, follow along this season.

Pick a team. Cheer fo...

A first look at the 2026 South Dakota State Jackrabbits following Saturday's Yellow & Blue Scrimmage, plus my conversation with head coach Dan Georgalas about a team with high expectations entering the season. We cover Brooklyn Meyer’s return to volleyball in front of fans, an impressive showing from freshman Marisa Michaelis, and the unfortunate news that Madison Burr will miss the season. Coach Georgalas also discusses why he believes this is the best level of talent he's had at South Dakota State, what he likes about the size, physicality and options provided by his four true middle blockers, and why he...

2026 Summit League Volleyball Team Preview: South Dakota State Jackrabbits
The two-time defending Summit League champions enter 2026 after 50 wins and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

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Don't sleep on the Mavericks in 2026. I really like the potential of this roster. Matt Buttermore has built one of the Summit League's most successful programs, and Omaha has added some intriguing pieces around returning All-Freshman selection Faith Venable. In Preview #5, I break down: 🏐 Why I'm higher on Omaha than last year's record might suggest 🏐 Faith Venable and the returning core 🏐 The additions of Madi Corf, Hayden Hart and Maddie Stuesser 🏐 Omaha's size and potential across the front row 🏐 Position-by-position depth charts 🏐 What the Mavericks must replace from Kali Jurgensmeier and Emily Huss 🏐 The 2026 non-conference schedule 🏐 My expectations for Omaha in the Summit Leag...

With 66% of their points and 75% of their sets played returning, can North Dakota State take another step toward the top of the conference? In this episode, we break down: Head Coach Jennifer Lopez and the program's recent success Returning All-Summit performers Lauren Jansen and Arianna Blohm The impact of All-Freshman libero Rya Borer Position-by-position depth charts Incoming recruiting class and transfer additions The complete 2026 non-conference schedule Biggest strengths, questions, and expectations entering the season Can the Bison challenge South Dakota State, South Dakota, and St. Thomas for a Summit League championship in 2026? Subscribe for continuing 2026 Summit League Volleyball Team...

The Tommies have made one of the biggest jumps in the Summit League, improving from three wins in 2021 to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025. Can they take the next step and challenge for a conference championship?

In this preview, we break down:

Head coach Thanh Pham and his remarkable coaching career Returning stars Morgan Kealy (Setter of the Year) and Anya Schmidt (Freshman of the Year) Key departures, including First Team All-Summit selections Megan Wetter and Tezra Rudzitis Position-by-position depth charts Newcomers and recruiting impact The challenging non-conference schedule Biggest strengths, concerns...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O0V_NwwW_M

In this episode: the evolution of Summit League volleyball, five-year program trends, returning award winners, the setters setting the standard, impact transfers, freshmen to watch, a comparison of the non-conference schedules, 25 opportunities against Top 100 opponents, and my goals for the 2026 Summit League volleyball season.

Also, my apologies in advance for every name I mispronounce. I'll keep working to get better as the season goes on!

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Here’s my official introduction to the SummitVBFan feed — disclaimers, biggest influencers, commitments, wish list, upcoming shows, and how to connect and follow along.

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