HELENA — The eight-team field for the 2026 Frontier Conference postseason volleyball tournament is set. The single-elimination tournament will take place Nov. 12–14 at the Carroll College P.E. Center.
No. 12-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) captured the Frontier Conference regular-season championship with a 20-2 conference record and earned the tournament's No. 1 seed. The Bruins entered postseason play with a 24-4 overall record.
Montana Tech secured the No. 2 seed after finishing 17-5 in conference play and 22-6 overall. Dakota State (S.D.) claimed the No. 3 seed with a 16-6 Frontier record and a 19-9 overall mark.
Three teams were tied for fourth place with Providence, Montana Western and Carroll each with a 14-8 conference record. The Argos (20-9 overall record) owned the tiebreaker after going 3-1 within those teams and secured the No. 4 seed. UMW (15-14 overall record) will be the No. 5 seed after going 2-2 within those teams, followed by Carroll (19-10 overall record) at No. 6 after going 1-3.
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Bismarck State (N.D.) is the No. 7 seed with an 11-11 conference record (13-14 overall record). Dickinson State (N.D.) rounds out the tournament field as the No. 8 seed with an 8-14 conference record (9-20 overall record). Both BSC and DiSU are making their first appearance in the Frontier Conference volleyball postseason tournament since the league expanded in 2025-26.
The quarterfinal round features top-seeded Bellevue against Dickinson State at 12 p.m. and fourth-seeded Providence against fifth-seeded Montana Western at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon session. Second-seeded Montana Tech faces seventh-seeded Bismarck State at 5 p.m., while third-seeded Dakota State meets sixth-seeded Carroll in the nightcap at 7:30.
The four quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals, with the championship match scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14.
Bellevue has already secured the Frontier Conference's first automatic berth to the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship by winning the regular-season title. The conference's second automatic berth will be determined through the postseason tournament.
MSU-Northern (10-18 overall record, 6-16 Frontier), Valley City State (N.D.) (8-21 overall record, 6-16 Frontier), Rocky Mountain (6-20 overall record, 4-18 Frontier) and Mayville State (N.D.) (2-25 overall record, 2-20 Frontier) ended their 2026 season Saturday.
The winner of the postseason tournament will earn the second automatic bid to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament opening round on Nov. 21. In case the regular-season champion reaches the championship match, the winner of the second semifinal match will earn the second automatic bid to the national tournament.
2026 Frontier Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 12-14 at Carroll College P.E. Center, Helena
Thursday, Nov. 12 – Quarterfinals
Match 1: (8) Dickinson State (N.D.) vs. (1) Bellevue (Neb.) – 12 p.m.
Match 2: (5) Montana Western vs. (4) Providence (Mont.) – 2:30 p.m.
Match 3: (7) Bismarck State (N.D.) vs. (2) Montana Tech – 5 p.m.
Match 4: (6) Carroll (Mont.) vs. (3) Dakota State (S.D.) – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13 – Semifinals
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner – 5 p.m.
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14 – Championship Match
Match 7: Friday’s semifinals winners – 7 p.m.
For additional information, visit the 2026 Frontier Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament Central.
