ATLANTA — The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2026 preseason all-conference women's volleyball teams, individual honors and predicted order of finish on Wednesday, featuring eight returning players from the 2025 All-SIAC lineup.
Preseason honors are as voted by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
| FIRST TEAM |
| POSITION |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Outside Hitter |
Dakotah Holmes* |
Fort Valley State |
Jr. |
Hampton, Ga. |
| Outside Hitter |
Karea Copeland* |
Miles |
So. |
Newnan, Ga. |
| Outside Hitter |
Jarianis Perez* |
Albany State |
Sr. |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Middle Blocker |
Desire' Young* |
Benedict |
Sr. |
Aurora, Colo. |
| Middle Blocker |
Laila Wheaton |
Kentucky State |
Jr. |
McKinney, Texas |
| Libero |
Ashlyn Whiteside* |
Spring Hill |
Sr. |
Fairhope, Ala. |
| Setter |
Amiyah Walker* |
Savannah State |
Jr. |
Pleasant Grove, Ala. |
| – * RETURNING 2025 ALL-SIAC SELECTION |
| SECOND TEAM |
| POSITION |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Outside Hitter |
Claire Hayes* |
Spring Hill |
Sr. |
Robertsdale, Ala. |
| Outside Hitter |
Maya Hendricks* |
Central State |
Sr. |
Columbus, Ohio |
| Outside Hitter |
Mia Burgess |
Benedict |
So. |
Columbia, S.C. |
| Middle Blocker |
Saige Bradley |
Allen |
Sr. |
Pottstown, Pa. |
| Middle Blocker |
Angelic Carter |
Benedict |
Jr. |
Biloxi, Miss. |
| Libero |
Jasmine Brantley |
Tuskegee |
So. |
Madison, Ala. |
| Setter |
Autumn James |
Edward Waters |
Jr. |
Gainesville, Fla. |
| – * RETURNING 2025 ALL-SIAC SELECTION |
| PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Karea Copeland |
Miles |
So. |
Newnan, Ga. |
| PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Ashlyn Whiteside |
Spring Hill |
Sr. |
Fairhope, Ala. |
| PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH |
| 1. Spring Hill |
| 2. Fort Valley State |
| 3. Albany State |
| 4. Benedict |
| 5. Savannah State |
| 6. Central State |
| 7. Edward Waters |
| 8. Miles |
| 9. Kentucky State |
| 10. Tuskegee |
| 11. Allen |
| 12. Clark Atlanta |
| 13. Lane |
| 14. LeMoyne-Owen |
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.