After being picked first in the GPAC preseason coaches’ poll earlier this week, Northwestern College has now earned the top spot nationally.
The Red Raiders are ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, marking the first time in program history Northwestern has opened a season atop the national rankings.
Northwestern received 120 points and 10 of 12 first-place votes in the GPAC preseason poll released earlier this week. Concordia was picked second in the conference, followed by Dakota Wesleyan and Midland.
The national ranking comes after another deep postseason run for head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch and the Red Raiders. Northwestern won both the GPAC regular-season and tournament championships in 2025 before advancing to the NAIA national championship match for the second time in three seasons.
The Raiders went a perfect 16-0 in GPAC play last season and dropped just four sets during the conference regular season.
Northwestern returns eight rotation players from that team, including 2025 GPAC Player of the Year and First Team All-American Stella Winterfeld. Winterfeld finished third in the GPAC in kills last season and recorded a career-high 24 kills in Northwestern’s conference opener.
All-conference selections Maddy Sampson, Nyah Potthoff and Sidney Oostra also return for the Red Raiders.
Northwestern will have to replace some significant senior leadership, including 2025 NAIA Defender of the Year Zavyr Metzger.
The No. 1 ranking is Northwestern’s first appearance atop the NAIA poll since November 13, 2024. The Red Raiders have now appeared in 69 consecutive NAIA Top 25 polls dating back to the 2016 season, the second-longest active streak nationally behind Eastern Oregon.
The GPAC has four teams represented in the national preseason Top 25. Concordia is ranked third, Dakota Wesleyan is 16th, and Midland is 20th.
