MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team starts the 2026 season at the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic on Friday and Saturday in Winona, Minn.
 
The Cougars will play host St. Mary's University on Friday at 7 p.m., then have a pair of matches against the College of Saint Scholastica and Wisconsin Lutheran College at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.
 
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The Cougars posted a record of 13-12 overall and 7-5 in the UMAC during the 2025 season. This was Minnesota Morris' 17th straight year of making the conference tournament. Clara Holden returns for her junior season after being named UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention last year. Holden tallied 494 assists. Ella Johnson and Bella Nelson finished last season ranked second and third, respectively, in kills for UMM.
 
Head Coach Joe Sussenguth enters his ninth season with the program. In the UMAC preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars were selected fourth.
 
St. Mary's finished the 2025 season with an 11-16 record and finished ninth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Amber Zitzow is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Cardinals. SMU returns two of its top three kill leaders in Kail and Alya Olson. The team's digs leader, Claire Rahman, also returns for the 2026 season.
 
St. Scholastica is coming off a 14-13 overall season and finished seventh in the MIAC in 2025. Head Coach Chelsea Meierotto starts her fourth season with the program. The Saints graduated their top two attackers but return junior Abby Zins, who finished third on the team in kills. Lauren Kahl, the team's leader in digs, also returns for the 2026 season. The Cougars have won the last three matches against CSS, with the most recent match going five sets.
 
Wisconsin Lutheran went 12-16 in the 2025 season and finished sixth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. In the season opener for the Warriors, they fell 3-2 to Luther College. Jenilee Voss is in her 10th season as the head coach of WLC. Elizabeth Ehlke led the team in the first match with 14 kills, while Brooke Bartelt had a team-high 14 digs. The last time the Cougars and Warriors played was in 2009, when UMM won in four sets.