Montana Western Volleyball Picked Sixth in Frontier Conference Preseason Poll

DILLON, Mont. — The University of Montana Western volleyball team will enter the 2026 season ranked sixth in the Frontier Conference Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Preseason Poll, the conference announced Monday.

The Bulldogs received 65 points in the preseason voting, placing them just behind Carroll College, which earned 80 points.

Defending Frontier Conference champion Providence claimed the top spot with 118 points and nine first-place votes. Bellevue was close behind with 113 points and three first-place votes. Montana Tech, Dakota State and Carroll rounded out the top five.

Bulldogs Return Experienced Roster

Montana Western enters 2026 with plenty of returning experience after finishing 13-17 overall and 11-11 in Frontier Conference play last season. The Bulldogs return 14 players from their 2025 roster while replacing four seniors.

Sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Lingenfelter headlines the returning group after earning Second Team All-Conference honors as a freshman. Lingenfelter led Montana Western with 247 kills, a .270 hitting percentage and 102 blocks during her first collegiate season.

Senior middle blocker Jaiden Perez also returns after an injury sidelined her for the second half of the 2025 season.

The Bulldogs bring back seniors Dani Brown, Madisyn Frazier, Morgyn Harrison and Sophie Worden. Brown averaged 2.08 kills per set last season, while Frazier and Harrison were among the team's leaders defensively. Worden averaged 3.74 assists per set.

Junior Taylor Ketchum returns after leading Montana Western with 4.47 digs per set. Savana Warburton, Olivia Rosborough and Maxine Hoagland also return for their junior seasons.

Sophomores Averi Look, Antonia Duncan, Nora Dominick and Jayda Ward join Lingenfelter among a large group of returning underclassmen.

Four Freshmen Join Bulldogs

Montana Western added four freshmen to its 2026 roster: Clea Rapson, Jaynie Jespersen, Maggie Schneiter and Lilia Kahalepo.

Head coach Katie Lovett returns for her eighth season leading the Bulldogs. Madison Richtmyer enters her fourth season as an assistant, while Payton Spoja and Jazi Smith begin their first seasons on the coaching staff.

2026 Frontier Conference Preseason Poll

Rank	Team	Points
1	Providence (9)	118
2	Bellevue (3)	113
3	Montana Tech	97
4	Dakota State	87
5	Carroll	80
6	Montana Western	65
7	MSU-Northern	63
8	Valley City State	51
9	Dickinson State	49
10	Bismarck State	33
11	Mayville State	20
12	Rocky Mountain	16

The Frontier Conference will receive two automatic bids to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament. One goes to the regular-season champion and the other to the conference tournament champion. If the same team wins both, the tournament runner-up receives the second bid.

Season Opens Friday in San Antonio

Montana Western won't have to wait long to see how its experienced roster stacks up. The Bulldogs open their season Friday, Aug. 14, at the Our Lady of the Lake preseason tournament in San Antonio, Texas.

UMW will play Our Lady of the Lake and Dakota Wesleyan on Friday, followed by matches against Campbellsville and Saint Francis on Saturday, Aug. 15.

The four-match opening weekend will give the Bulldogs their first opportunity to begin building on last season and make their case for moving up from their sixth-place preseason projection.