2026 Ohio Volleyball Season Preview
8/27/2026 11:55:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team is set to kick off the 2026 season at the Marshall Invitational on Aug. 28-29.
At the helm of the program is head coach Kenzie Brinkman. Just prior to the 2025 MAC Tournament, athletic director Slade Larscheid removed her interim title, making Brinkman the 13th head coach in program history.Â
That job promotion came on the back of a very strong season for Brinkman and her squad, as they finished the year with a 12-6 record in Mid-American Conference play before losing in the first round of the MAC tournament against hosts Bowling Green.Â
It wasn't always easy for last season's group, though, as they bounced back from an 11-match losing streak to finish third in the conference with that 12-6 record in conference play. The team stayed resilient and powered through the tough stretch of matches in the beginning of the season to completely turn it around.Â
"After the start of last season, it could have been super easy for them to give up and just kind of be like, 'ah, you know what? This season's pretty much done with," Brinkman said. "I think it was really important, and it speaks volumes to the players that I have and that are still on my team that they came into practice every single day as if they were undefeated."
The Bobcats were picked tied for fourth and received one first-place vote in the 2026 MAC preseason coaches poll, partly because of the continuity with the roster from last season to now.Â
"Being able to work with them over the spring and do all the little things that we wanted to get done in season, but just didn't have that time to do, it means a lot," Brinkman said. "It allows for leaders to emerge, for offense, for rhythm, for tons of different purposes."
Brinkman and her coaching staff retain 12 players from the season, including sophomore opposite Bailey Blair and junior middle blocker Emily Waddell. Both players were named to the 2026 Preseason All-MAC team.Â
Blair emerged as a star freshman last season, racking up 360 kills over 120 sets played, the most kills on the team, while being tied with Waddell for the most sets played on the team.Â
"Bailey's going to be Bailey," Brinkman said. "I have no doubt that that girl has the highest of expectations for herself, and so she will be very successful."
Blair and Waddell headline the returning players, but Brinkman is excited for some more under-the-radar players this season as well.Â
"Cienna Lapsley, who was injured last season and kind of took that redshirt year, came in this spring, worked her butt off, and I think she'll make a name for herself this season," Brinkman said. "We have three really good freshmen that'll come in right away that I think will make big impacts."
Brinkman will be entering her first year as the full-time head coach with a complete squad that features other veterans like senior outside hitters Torre Kildow and Gentry Brown. There is experience and talent all over this throughout the roster, and Brinkman and her staff are aiming to turn that into a MAC title this season.
"Our term when they came back in January was 'ALLWAYS'," Brinkman said. "As in, no matter what we're doing, we are always doing it with the mindset of, 'Is this going to help me get better? Is this going to win me a MAC championship?' I really think they bought into that."
#OUohyeah
