College women's volleyball season openers feature close matches

In the opening matches of the 2026 season, Menlo College women's volleyball experienced two closely contested five-set matches at the Fresno Pacific Sunbird Classic. The Oaks fell to Hawaii Hilo in five sets (24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 26-24, 15-13) and to Western Oregon in five sets (25-12, 21-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11). Fuka Kikuchi recorded 21 kills in the match against Hilo, while Ruby Santos contributed 55 assists across both contests.

Separately, the University of the Pacific women's volleyball team opened their season at the Gael-Bear Classic, losing in three sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-11) to California. The Tigers struggled offensively with a .160 hitting percentage, while California maintained a significant advantage in kills and setting assists. Pacific's Julia Porath and Nicole Zake each recorded six kills in the loss.