ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team is set to open the 2026 campaign this weekend as they head to Cedarville, Ohio for the Cedarville Invitational.

CEDARVILLE INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
The Golden Bears will make their first of two early-season trips when they head to Cedarville, Ohio for three matches at the Cedarville Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
 
On Friday, Concordia will open the season taking on No. 23 Gannon at 10:30 a.m. CT and No. 24 Missouri St. Louis at 6 p.m. CT. The match against Gannon will be a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament meeting. Concordia and UMSL will meet for the first time.
 
CSP will wrap up the tournament on Saturday with a match against host Cedarville at 2:30 p.m. CT, marking the first-ever meeting between the teams. All three matches will be live-streamed on FloCollege (subscription required).
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online at cspbears.com/tickets prior to game day. All ticketed events for the 2026-27 academic year will utilize the Vivenu online ticket platform found at that link, and fans must scan a mobile ticket to enter. Tickets will still be sold on site on game day, but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their game day entry as smooth as possible is to purchase tickets online in advance. CSP Students, Faculty and Staff will be able to download their free passes through Vivenu.
 
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
Starting with the 2026-27 season, Concordia and the NSIC will call Midco Sports Plus the streaming home for the NSIC Network. Midco Sports Plus, a regional cable provider primarily based in North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Minnesota, features an expanded variety of online sports coverage.
 
The NSIC Network will be part of a subscription service with annual access plans starting at under $7 per month for the full year ($79/year) or a monthly service for $15, which includes NSIC coverage as well as Summit League coverage.
 
Concordia's broadcasts will continue to feature multiple cameras with instant replay, along with commentary from St. Paul-native Dan Flanagan, a graduate of Fordham University (N.Y.), where he covered multiple NCAA Division I sports teams on campus for the Rams, including football and basketball in the Patriot League. Flanagan has been the broadcast voice of the Golden Bears for nearly 20 years and called multiple national, regional, and conference championships.
 
For more information, view the NSIC's press release announcing the Midco Sports Plus partnership: https://cspbears.com/news/2026/7/16/athletics-midco-sports-launches-nsics-new-streaming-home.aspx
 
For streaming support and troubleshooting, visit Midco's support page: https://sports.midco.com/support
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
2025 SEASON REVIEW
The Golden Bears finished the 2025 campaign with an overall record of 31-6, making the program's 12^th run to the national title match and ultimately finishing as the national runner-up. In conference play, the Golden Bears finished 19-1 to claim their 15^th NSIC regular season title.

CSP's Makenna Nold was named the AVCA National Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America honors, while Mehlayna Straub was named an All-America Honorable Mention.

AVCA PRESEASON POLL
 In the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II preseason poll, the Golden Bears were selected as the top-ranked team in the country.

Concordia collected 1,142 points and 18 first-place votes in the poll, leading second-place Tampa (10 first-place votes, 1,108 points) by 34 points. Defending national champion MSU Denver was picked third with 987 points and 18 first-place votes.

It marks the first time since 2018 that the Golden Bears have claimed the top spot in the preseason poll. CSP last sat atop the weekly poll on September 11, 2023.

Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for more than two decades, as it has ranked outside the top 10 for just eight weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. The Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 17 of the past 21 seasons. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 84 weeks as the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
At the season-opening tournament hosted by Cedarville, Concordia will face off against a pair of preseason top-25 squads in Gannon and UMSL and a defending conference champion in host school Cedarville.

On the competition in Ohio, Head Coach Brady Starkey stated, "With the new NPI (NCAA Power Index), the thought process was to play high RPI teams to get some tough matches in early. We know that the only way to really make regionals is to play tough matches and get wins against those teams. We'll put ourselves out there early this year, and hopefully we can come away with a couple of wins."

Following their trip to the Cedarville Invitational this weekend, the Golden Bears will journey to Colorado for the Colorado Premier Challenge the following weekend.

As in previous years, the Colorado Premier Challenge is set to feature some of the nation's top programs, with Concordia slated to take on Lewis (Ill.) and Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) on day one before playing two more matches in bracket play on day two.

On the Colorado Premier Challenge, Starkey added, "Anyone playing in that tournament is going to be a quality team, because you don't get to go to that tournament if you're not."
 
NSIC AT A GLANCE
Playing in the ever-competitive NSIC, Concordia's conference schedule will afford the Golden Bears little respite from the tough non-conference slate. In total, four NSIC squads were featured in the AVCA Division II Preseason Poll with Concordia-St. Paul (#1, 1,142 points), St. Cloud State (#5, 916 points), Wayne State (#9, 786 points), and Southwest Minnesota State (#14, 507 points) each representing the league in the rankings.

In the NSIC Coaches Poll, the Golden Bears were picked to finish first after capturing the program's 15^th NSIC title last season.

"Top to bottom, our conference just continues to get tougher every year," said Starkey. "I'm expecting it to be the typical Northern Sun with tough matches every week."

The NSIC regular season champion will be determined by the 20-match conference schedule. The 2026 NSIC Volleyball Tournament will be an eight-team tournament with the quarterfinals hosted at the top four seeds on Tuesday, November 10, and the semifinals/championship matches hosted at the highest remaining seed. The semifinals/championship matches will take place on two consecutive days between Friday and Sunday, November 13-15, with the dates of competition determined by the host institution.

2026 ROSTER
With three graduating seniors last season and four newcomers to the squad this year, the Golden Bears will feature a heavy dose of returning talent alongside a few fresh faces.

"In the areas of hitting and blocking, we've got some kids who are pretty terminal coming back," said Starkey. "I like what our offense looks like when we are doing easy drills in system, but our biggest challenge will be replacing the high-level ball control we lost after last year."
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS
The 2026 squad will once again feature the returning duo of Reagan Hickey and Audrey Waterman at setter.

Splitting time at the position last year, Hickey averaged 7.02 assists per set in 126 sets played, while Waterman averaged 6.29 assists per set in 110 sets played.

"It's great to have both of our setters back to continue to build on last season," said Starkey. "They're still competing with each other every day. We've run a 5-2 with them for a bit here, and we're comfortable continuing to do that, but we're also comfortable switching to a 5-1 if someone gives us a reason to."

At libero/defensive specialist, the Golden Bears lose the graduating duo of Cassie Sieling and Natalee Rolbiecki, and return sophomore Josie Tingelhoff while adding sophomore transfer Marta Leeland and freshman Abby Rolbiecki to the mix.

"With Josie, her defense is at a level that rivals some of the best that we have ever had here," said Starkey. "She's going to find her way on the court more this season, and I think it will be fun for people to watch her compete with some of the intangibles that she brings to the table."

On Leeland, a sophomore transfer from East Stroudsburg (Pa.), Starkey stated, "Marta is a proven entity in that she has played and found success at this level. She's pretty calm and stable on the court, and she's really solid defensively and in serve-receive."

In her freshman campaign at East Stroudsburg, Leeland was named to the All-PSAC East First Team after collecting 600 digs (4.96 per set) and 55 aces to help lead the Warriors to a PSAC title.

The lone freshman among the libero group, Rolbiecki, the sister of 2026 Concordia graduate and fellow defensive specialist Natalee Rolbiecki, comes to Concordia from Minneota High School.

"Abby is just a really skilled player," said Starkey. "You wouldn't know she was a freshman from watching her on the court. She has been around the game for a long time, and she comes from a talented lineage of volleyball players, so we're pretty excited to have her here."

On the group as a whole, Starkey added, "All three of them have a legitimate shot getting on the court in a significant role this season. It's just a matter of which one of them is putting on the libero jersey on a given night."

In the middle, the Bears will feature a large returning presence with senior Julia Gordon, junior Kelsey Cooper, and sophomore Olivia Stier each coming back in 2026. Senior Mehlayna Straub and sophomore Annika Swenson will see time in the middle as well. The lone newcomer to the group is freshman Kaydence White.

"Kelsey is a really high-IQ volleyball player," stated Starkey. "She just makes solid decisions wherever she is on the court. We call players aside and give them what we call a 'soft clap' when they do something smart in practice, and she is probably the one on our team that gets the most soft claps."

Cooper finished as the second-leading blocker on the roster last season, tallying 99 total blocks (0.90 per set) in 110 sets played. She also added 226 kills (2.05 per set) while ranking second in the team with a .343 hitting percentage.

On Gordon, Starkey said, "On a technical level, Julia is probably one of the most talented players we've had in our program in terms of going behind the setter and going up off one foot. She's working hard on her blocking to make that part of her game as well, but offensively she is very impressive."

Gordon was the most efficient offensive player on the team in terms of hitting percentage a season ago, hitting .344 with 59 kills on 128 swings.

An AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and All-NSIC First Teamer last season, Straub returns for her senior campaign at Concordia in 2026. Last year, she ranked second on the team in kills (261, 2.84 per set) and third on the squad with 94 total blocks.

"Mehlayna had a great year for us last year," said Starkey. "She somehow looks even more athletic than she has in the past, which is hard to even fathom. She's so fast to get from side-to-side on the court that she would be tough to take out of the middle, but she could easily hit another position for us."

After appearing in just one match as a freshman, Stier is poised for a larger role on the court in 2026.

"Olivia had a breakout spring for us," stated Starkey. "She probably gets the most blocks of anyone on our team on a day-to-day basis in practice. Her teammates always want to challenge her at the net in practice, and that usually ends up being a mistake on their part. She has a bright future ahead of her."

After missing her freshman season due to injury, Swenson will look to make an impact in her second season as a Golden Bear.

"Coming off an injury last year, Annika has done a great job putting in the work to get back to where she was before she got hurt," said Starkey. "She looks as good in practice as we expected her to look pre-injury last year. She brings versatility to our lineup, having played in the middle, on the outside, and on the right side throughout her high school and club career."

A freshman out of Hallock, Minnesota, Kaydence White joins the Golden Bears after a dominant career at Kittson Central High School.

"Kaydence looks a lot like some of the hoppy middles we've had at Concordia in the past," said Starkey. "Watching her at the high school level, she really dominated and stuck out on the court. Her blocking is strong for someone coming in as a freshman, so she really has a ton of potential."

On the outside and the right side, Concordia returns junior Makenna Nold and sophomore Kaelyn Snoozy, while adding freshman Vivie Dempsey to the group after losing graduating senior Ellie Sieling last season.

Snoozy put together a breakout freshman campaign that saw her appear in all 35 matches for the Golden Bears last season, ranking third on the team with 2.69 kills per set.

"Kaelyn is somebody who competes super hard and always wants to win," stated Starkey. "She has a strong belief in herself, and she is not afraid to take big swings in big moments. She is going to take on an expanded role in the area of ball control this season, so I'm excited to see how she steps up."

Rounding out the freshman class for Concordia is Vivie Dempsey, an outside hitter from La Farge, Wisconsin.

"Vivie is a dynamic jumper who hits a heavy ball," said Starkey. "She has a nice skill set in the back row, too, so she really has potential to be a great six-rotation player for us."

The 2025 AVCA Division II National Player of the Year, Nold will look to carry that momentum into her junior campaign. Last season, Nold led the NSIC in kills (563) and points (672.5) while also leading the team in total blocks (103).

"Somehow, Makenna just keeps getting better," said Starkey. "She has a cannon of an arm, and she is just super hungry to learn every day in practice. She's a blast to coach because she is not afraid to fail, which is a trait that not many players or people in general have."