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Kenyon College Athletics

Hannah Schwemm
Mikayla Rudolph

2026 volleyball preview

GAMBIER, Ohio - With the Kenyon College volleyball team coming off a North Coast Athletic Confernece (NCAC) tournament quarterfinal appearance, newly appointed head coach Macey Zinser will look to guide the Owls squad to another postseason appearance in the season ahead. 

2025 Review
  • 6-20 overall record, 6-3 at home, 0-8 at away, and 0-9 at neutral sites.
  • 2-5 in conference play, securing a NCAC quarterfinal appearance.
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Macey Zinser takes over the Owls volleyball program for her first season at the helm. Zinser joined the program in January coming off a stint as a graduate assistant coaching position at nearby Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU). She was a key piece in the MVNU coaching staff for a team making deep runs in the NAIA tournament peaking at a No. 10 rank nationally.  She is joined by newly appointed assistant coach Stephanie Biros, who comes to Kenyon with a wealth of experience in the volleyball world, coaching at both the club level in Cincinnati and locally at East Knox. 

NCAC Preseason Poll
Kenyon bagged the eighth seed in the preseason poll for the 2026 season that lies ahead. The defending champions, Wittenberg University, received the maximum possible points in the preseason poll with a total of 64 points coming off a NCAA Round of 32 appearance. John Carroll University falls second in line receiving 55 points after an NCAC Championship appearance last fall. Denison University and Ohio Wesleyan University fell in third (43 points) and fourth (41 points), respectively, after NCAC semifinal showings for both squads. DePauw University finished in the fifth poll position (37 points). Oberlin College (17 points) and The College of Wooster (16 points) finished sixth and seventh, separated by only one point.

Returning Statistical Leaders
Senior Olivia Gumz is back in the rotation for the Owls eyeing up another dominant year in her fourth season. In 87 sets last year, Gumz notched 200.5 points (second-most), 2.30 points per set (second-most), 193 kills (second-most), and 2.22 kills per set (second-most). Hannah Schwemm, also a senior, returns as the team's leading setter. She served up a team-best 585 assists in 2025 for an average of 6.80 assists per set. Schwemm had a nose for the ball playing on the back row, too, as she picked up 252 digs and 2.93 digs per set last fall, while only charged with three reception errors, good for a 97% reception rate (best on the team). Also, on the defensive, senior Sophia Menke didn't quite play a full season as a junior, but still managed to be second on the team with 26 total blocks.  

Schedule Overview
  • Season Opener: Tuesday, September 1, vs. Bluffton University (7 p.m.)
  • Home Opener: Tuesday, September 1, vs. Bluffton University (7 p.m.)
  • NCAC Opener: Saturday, September 26, at The College of Wooster (1 p.m.)

How to Follow
Fans can follow Kenyon volleyball throughout the season via the following links: 
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