BRIGHTON, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball was selected to finish fifth in the 2026 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Volleyball Preseason Poll.
 
The MIAA announced the preseason poll following a vote of the league's nine head coaches. The 2026 season features a talented group of returning All-MIAA selections, conference award winners, and AVCA All-Region honorees as the league prepares for another competitive fall season.
 
The nine team MIAA will feature each team facing one another once each, with each team hosting four games and traveling for four games. The Belles conference schedule will kick off on October 3 as they travel to Kalamazoo College before returning home to host Albion College on October 7 for their first MIAA home matchup. The season concludes on November 7 as they host Trine University.
 
Calvin University led the poll with seven first-place votes as they were chosen to win the conference after finishing second in standings and winning the 2025 MIAA Tournament. Hope College was projected to finish second after receiving the other two first-place votes.
 
Following the Knights and Flying Dutch were Albion and Trine, both projected to finish above Saint Mary's. Following the Belles was the University of Olivet, Alma College, Kalamazoo, and Adrian College.
 
Saint Mary's, as a team, finished 2025 with a 16-11 overall record and a 3-5 MIAA record. The team made their first appearance in the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, falling at Trine in a five-set thriller.
 
The Belles return nine players from their 2025 campaign including All-MIAA First Team member senior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) to lead the team. Carens is joined by seniors Anna Bradley (Chicago, IL) and Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN). Juniors Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) joins the three as upperclassmen while sophomores Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN), Lexi Szymanski (Walker, MI), and Maddie Taitano (Tacoma, WA) return for their second seasons.
 
Saint Mary's also brings in a plethora of new faces to the program this year including six first year student-athletes and two sophomores. Sophomores Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) and Marissa Mancine (Chicago, IL) join the program as Boyle enters her first year with the team and Mancine transfers in from Gustavus Adolphus College. The Belles also bring in freshmen Molly Caughey (Norton Shores, MI), Gwen Ellis (Lisle, IL), Reina Larkin (Tampa, FL), Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL), Lieve Siewert (New Buffalo, MI), and Maddy VanBlack (Tecumseh, MI).