Women's Volleyball | 8/18/2026 12:03:00 PM

Madison, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team is picked to finish sixth in the 2026 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings in a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The preseason poll was announced by the conference office Tuesday.

A LOOK INTO THE WIAC

• Preseason Poll Results: UW-Oshkosh was picked to secure its fourth straight WIAC regular-season championship followed by  UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater. The remaining order in the conference predictions features: UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-La Crosse, UW-Stout and UW-River Falls.
• 2025 Season: The Eagles finished 21-12 overall and 2-5 in the WIAC. UW-Oshkosh, the defending National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Champion, won the WIAC regular season title with a 7-0 record as well as won the WIAC Tournament Championship. 
• 2025 All-WIAC Honors: Earning WIAC Honorable Mention All-Conference honors were Taylor Larson and Maddy Wilson. 

A LOOK INTO THE 2026 EAGLES

• Senior Grace Nommensen along with junior Grace Turlais and sophomore Maddy Wilson will look to lead the Eagles offense in 2026. Last season, Nommensen finished second in kills with 272 while Wilson was third (200) and Turlais was fourth (181). Offensively, UWL also returns Bella Kottke, Annie Werner and Sydney Marx. 
• UWL will look to a new libero in 2026 as they will be replacing WIAC All-Conference honoree Taylor Larson who graduated after last season. Megan Jasperson and Kennedy Myers saw limited action last season in the libero jersey. Jasperson finished with 154 digs while Myers had 20 digs. Megan Lund and Nommensen also played a key role in UWL's defense as they finished with 331 and 203 digs, respectively. 
• The Eagles saw their blocking improve tremendously in 2025 led by Wilson (98 total blocks),Turlais (55 total blocks) and Werner (51 total blocks). 
• The setting position will look to build off last season as the Eagles return three setters from a season ago. Lund led the Eagles with 608 assists while Kailyn Kurth finished with 407 and Sydney Hoeft had 97. 
• The Eagles welcome eight new faces to the program including Izzy Reichert (S, Eau Claire), Charley Casey (OH/Opp, Holmen), Jaiden Lee (OH, South Haven, Minn.), Rebecca Krause (OH/DS, Hortonville), Ali Dehnicke (OH/Opp, Andover, Minn.), Lexi Champeau (S, Delano, Minn.), Andrea Waldera (MH, Taylor) and Brayln Siverling (L/DS, Altoona). 

FROM COACH DEB'S OFFICE

• "We are so excited for the upcoming season, commented Head Coach Deb Sazama. We are using last year as the foundation for the future and we are ready to be back together and training. Our incoming class will enhance the program both on and off the court, and we can't wait to integrate them into the Eagle family!"
• Coach Sazama enters her fourth season at the helm and fifth season with the UWL volleyball program. After serving as the Eagles assistant coach in 2022, Sazama moved over one seat and became the Eagles head coach in May of 2023. 
• In Sazama's three season, the Eagles are 43-51 overall. The 2025 season saw Sazama and her staff lead a complete turn around as they won 21 games after just six the season before. The 21 wins was the most wins by an Eagle team since 2017. UWL also qualified for the WIAC tournament for the first time since 2021 and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 with an upset win over UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals. 
• Beginning her second season on the UWL staff is Nellie George who was hired in April of 2025. George served as a volunteer assistant in 2024 and before that spent 16 years coaching in the high school ranks along with nine years coaching club volleyball.