HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University Volleyball team is set to begin the 2026 regular season with a three-match tournament, starting Friday, at the Ole Miss Invitational at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center in Oxford, Miss.
After ending the 2025 season with the third-best record (20-9, 12-4 in SLC) in the Southland Conference, the Lions, along with 2025 SLC Player of the Year
Kyra McKelvey, will compete for the first time in 2026 against Ole Miss, Friday at 6 p.m. 2024 SLC All-Tournament Team honoree
Keira Beverly will also compete for the Lions in 2026, after playing two matches last season.
On Friday, SLU's 6 p.m. match against Ole Miss will be televised on SEC Network+. Live stats for all three of SLU's matches this weekend will be available on the volleyball schedule page on
www.LionSports.net.
The Rebels posted a 14-15 overall record last season, closing the campaign as the Southeastern Conference's 13
th seed with a 4-11 conference slate. Ole Miss will have eight newcomers to the 2026 squad after losing three starting student-athletes from last season. Senior Jorda Cook headlines the Rebels' new additions. The former UAB Dragon was named First Team All-AAC in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025.
The second match of SLU's opening weekend will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, when the Lions face Loyola Marymount. LMU ended the 2025 season with a 7-20 overall record, going 5-13 in conference play. LMU, however, was tabbed third in the West Coast Conference's 2026 preseason poll. The Lions, led by second-year head coach Kolby O'Donnell, also had three student-athletes named to the WCC Preseason Team, including Anya Santrac, Aleksandra Stojanovic, and Maria Tabacuks.
In the final match of the weekend, Southeastern will take on Northern Arizona at 11 a.m. Sunday. After winning the Big Sky Conference regular-season title in 2025, NAU finished second in the league's preseason poll to begin 2026. The Lumberjacks received four first-place votes, closing the poll three points behind first-place finisher Northern Colorado. NAU's Hanah Stoddard was named the Big Sky's Preseason MVP, with Gigi Greenlee also making the All-Conference team.
After leaving Oxford, the Lions will remain on the road and compete in the 2026 Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic in Lafayette, La. The tournament, hosted by UL Lafayette, will feature matches against the Ragin' Cajuns and Memphis. The first day of the tourney will feature SLU's match against UL Lafayette Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m.
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at
laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting
www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB on X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
