HELENA — Providence enters the 2026 volleyball season as the Frontier Conference favorite.
The Argos received nine first-place votes and 118 points, placing them just five points ahead of Bellevue (Neb.), which collected the other three first-place votes and finished with 113 points.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. First-place votes are worth 11 points, second place worth 10 points, third place worth nine points, and so on to the last place with one point.
The narrow margin establishes Providence and Bellevue as the early headliners in a 12-team conference race. The teams met in last year's Frontier Conference postseason tournament's championship match. Both UP and BU also advanced to the NAIA national tournament's quarterfinals.
Montana Tech ranks third in the preseason poll with 97 points, and Dakota State (S.D.) follows in fourth with 87.
Carroll begins the season in fifth place after receiving 80 points. The middle of the poll is tightly packed behind the Fighting Saints, with Montana Western sixth at 65 points and MSU-Northern seventh at 63.
Valley City State (N.D.) holds the No. 8 position with 51 points, only two points ahead of ninth-place Dickinson State (N.D.), creating another group in which individual conference matches could quickly change the standings.
Bismarck State (N.D.) is ranked 10th with 33 points, followed by Mayville State (N.D.) with 20 and Rocky Mountain with 16. Those teams enter the season with an opportunity to outperform their preseason positions, particularly in head-to-head matches against opponents clustered near them in the poll.
The NAIA women’s volleyball season officially begins Friday with preseason tournaments.
The 22-match Frontier Conference volleyball schedule starts the first week of September. The top eight teams in the conference standings will advance to the postseason tournament held at the PE Center in Helena, hosted by Carroll on Nov. 12-14.
The league will be awarded two automatic bids to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament. The regular-season champion will receive the first automatic bid. The second berth will be awarded to the Frontier Conference tournament champion. In the event the regular-season champion is the tournament champion, the second berth will be awarded to the tournament’s runner-up.
2026 Frontier Conference Women's Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll
1. Providence — 118 points (9 first-place votes)
2. Bellevue (Neb.) — 113 (3)
3. Montana Tech — 97
4. Dakota State (S.D.) — 87
5. Carroll — 80
6. Montana Western — 65
7. MSU-Northern — 63
8. Valley City State (N.D.) — 51
9. Dickinson State (N.D.) — 49
10. Bismarck State (N.D.) — 33
11. Mayville State (N.D.) — 20
12. Rocky Mountain — 16
