LATHAM, N.Y. – Gallaudet University has been selected as the favorite in the 2026 United East Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll after receiving eight first-place votes and 138 total points. 

Penn State Harrisburg earned the remaining five first-place votes and finished just behind Gallaudet with 133 points. Defending champion St. Mary’s College of Maryland rounded out the top three with 128 points.

Gallaudet posted a 24-6 overall record and went unbeaten in conference play at 10-0 last season, earning its third consecutive United East regular-season title. The Bison elected not to participate in the United East Championship Tournament as members of the program prepared to compete in the 2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Ella Gamble, Citrine Lummer, Brielle Worley, Jada Zarembka and assistant coach Leila Sicoli represented Team USA, which finished fifth overall after sweeping Brazil, 3-0, in the fifth-place match.

Worley returns for her senior season after leading NCAA Division III with 509 kills and recording a .320 hitting percentage last fall. She was named the 2025 United East Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and earned First Team All-Conference honors. Fellow senior and First Team All-Conference selection Zarembka also returns after registering 290 kills.

Despite returning only two seniors and no juniors, reigning United East Coach of the Year Lynn Ray Boren is eager to see how his young roster develops.

“We have a very young and new team this year, with only two seniors, no juniors, and 11 new players,” Boren said. “What excites me most is the opportunity to see this group grow together, build team chemistry, and develop throughout the season. Fans can expect an energetic team that competes hard and continues to improve each time we step on the court.”

“The keys to our success will be building strong team chemistry, developing consistency, and helping our younger players gain confidence and experience,” Boren added. “We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are excited about the challenge and look forward to competing for another United East championship.”

Penn State Harrisburg enters the season second in the poll after a record-setting 2025 campaign. The Lions finished 21-6 overall and 9-1 in conference play, established a program record for wins in a season and advanced to the United East championship match for the first time. Senior Brianna Ondishin Ribon, a 2025 First Team All-Conference selection, returns after recording 237 kills last season.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland was picked third after capturing the first United East women’s volleyball championship in program history. The Seahawks finished 8-2 in conference play before defeating Penn State Harrisburg, 3-2, in the championship match. St. Mary’s returns its top five hitters from last season, including First Team All-Conference outside hitter Maya Mauro, who registered 294 kills.

Lancaster Bible College was selected fourth with 102 points after finishing among a three-team group at 7-3 in conference play last season. Cairn University, which also went 7-3, followed in fifth with 99 points, while Notre Dame of Maryland University received 93 points to place sixth after posting the same conference record.

Penn State Abington was picked seventh with 77 points, followed by Penn State Brandywine in eighth with 69 points. Both programs finished 6-4 in conference play last season. Cedar Crest College placed ninth in the poll with 57 points, while Penn State Berks received 46 points to rank 10th after both teams went 4-6 in 2025.

Wilson College was selected 11th with 27 points, Keystone College followed in 12th with 24 points and Penn College rounded out the poll in 13th with 21 points.

The complete 2026 United East Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll is listed below.

	Team	Points	First-Place Votes
1	Gallaudet University	138	8
2	Penn State Harrisburg	133	5
3	St. Mary's College of Maryland	128
4	Lancaster Bible College	102
5	Cairn University	99
6	Notre Dame of Maryland University	93
7	Penn State Abington	77
8	Penn State Brandywine	69
9	Cedar Crest College	57
10	Penn State Berks	46
11	Wilson College	27
12	Keystone College	24
13	Penn College	21