DANVILLE, Va. – With an even mixture of veteran upperclassman and incoming freshman, second-year coach
Emma Nash looks ahead to Averett University women's volleyball's 2026 campaign.
The 32nd Annual Cougar Classic takes place from Sept. 4-5 to kick off the season, as Averett takes on the likes of Bob Jones University, Salem College, and Greensboro College; all from the home confines of E. Stuart James Grant Center. The opening home slate for the Cougars extends to five with matches versus North Carolina Wesleyan University and Pfeiffer University on Sept. 8 and 10, respectively.
"I am extremely excited to get back in the gym with the girls, and they share that anticipation with me," Nash adds. "We have a lot of work to get back to what the program's history is, and they are ready to start."
Averett's first road match also happens to be its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference match, against the conference's newest women's volleyball program, but a familiar foe in Sweet Briar College on Sept. 15. The two schools have not faced each other since 2010.
After that, the Cougars return right back to the Grant Center for three more conference matches on the 23rd, 25th, and 26th; against the University of Lynchburg, Shenandoah University, and Eastern Mennonite University.
Averett then begins its longest road trip of the season, with four straight away from Danville. Oct. 13 is the Cougars' next home match versus non-conference opponent William Peace University, but then head up to St. Mary's City, Maryland for their only tri-match of 2026. There, Averett contests its first ever match against Lancaster Bible College, then take on tri-match hosts in St. Mary's College of Maryland, all on Oct. 17.
The Cougars' home slate concludes with four straight home bouts, all versus ODAC opponents. Averett plays Randolph on Oct. 21, then face the two schools that were in the conference championship a year prior; victors in Washington and Lee University on Oct. 23, then finalists in Bridgewater College on Oct. 24.
Averett's last home and ODAC match comes against Guilford College on Oct. 28. The regular season concludes at Southern Virginia University on Nov. 3.
The ODAC tournament starts up on Nov. 10.
