ROME, Ga. - The Methodist University women's volleyball team is seeking for their fifth-straight USA South Conference tournament berth, after being selected fifth, with 45 total points in the 2026 USA South Athletics Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll as announced by the league offices on Thursday afternoon.
 
The defending USA South regular season champion, Greensboro College, finished first with 79 total points, collecting seven first place votes in the process. The reigning USA South Conference tournament champion, Southern Virginia University, finished in second with 75 total points, with three first place votes. Meredith College would follow suit in third with 62 total points, with Salem College rounding out the top four, collecting 52 total points in the poll.
 
Pfeiffer University would land in sixth overall with 38 total points, narrowly edging out William Peace University, who snagged 37 total points for seventh place. Brevard College ranked out in eighth position with 31 total points, followed by North Carolina Wesleyan University who finished with 22 total points for ninth place. Mary Baldwin University ranked tenth overall, receiving nine total points.
 
Methodist opens the 2026 regular season in their first of two tournaments this season, first being at the Covenant Classic, hosted by Covenant College, battling the Scots and Rhodes College inside Barnes P.E. Center on Friday, September 4th through Saturday, September 5th. The game time against Covenant College is set for 7:30 PM on the fourth, while the game time against the Lynx will commence at 4:00 PM on the fifth. The Monarchs will dive into conference play on Tuesday, September 15th, hosting Pfeiffer University in their home opener inside the March F. Riddle Center, with first serve commencing at 7:00 PM.
 
The first round of the 2026 USA South Conference Tournament will be held at the highest four seeds, with the bottom four squads traveling to those teams on Tuesday, November 10th. The semifinals will be hosted at the highest two remaining seeds on Thursday, November 12th with the finals occurring at the highest remaining seed Saturday, November 14th, with all times to be announced.