Austin College volleyball opens 2026 season with two wins at Hughey Gym

Austin College started its 2026 volleyball season Sept. 1 with two nonconference wins at Hughey Gym in Sherman, defeating Howard Payne in four sets and Paul Quinn in five, according to Austin College athletics. The opening date began what the college's preseason release described as the program's 50th varsity season.

The Paul Quinn match went the distance after the teams split the first four sets, according to the official box score. Austin College lost the first set, took the next two, dropped the fourth and won the deciding set 15-3.

The official box score credited Laynie Kovacs with a match-high 31 digs and six service aces against Paul Quinn. Austin College's recap said Kovacs served five aces during a fifth-set run. The college's play-by-play supports the five Kovacs aces during the decisive stretch, though it records the scoring sequence differently than the recap.

Austin College entered the season coming off a 19-12 year, including a 12-4 record in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, according to the college's 2026 preview. The same release said Kovacs began the season with 1,936 career digs after recording 601 digs and 5.32 digs per set in 2025.

The opening wins have since been followed by victories over Lyon, Belhaven, McMurry and Hardin-Simmons, according to Austin College's schedule page, which listed the Kangaroos at 6-0 overall and 0-0 in conference play. SCAC standings listed Austin College first in the Blue Division overall table, ahead of Hendrix and LeTourneau.

SCAC statistical leaders listed Kovacs first in the conference in digs per set at 5.92 and first in total digs with 142. The same league page listed her fourth in service aces per set and credited her with 15 total aces.

Howard Payne's official schedule shows the Yellow Jackets beat Paul Quinn in five sets earlier Sept. 1 in Sherman before losing to Austin College later that day. Paul Quinn's schedule listed the Tigers at 12-3 overall, with losses to Howard Payne and Austin College on Sept. 1 and later neutral-site wins at Austin College over McMurry, Hardin-Simmons, Lyon and Belhaven.

The season began against a wider backdrop of growth in women's college sports. The NCAA reported that women's volleyball participation reached 19,810 student-athletes in 2024-25, up 4 percent from the year before and 16 percent over 10 years. The NCAA also reported overall Division III women's participation at 87,407 student-athletes, up 11 percent over 10 years.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association said 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams earned its 2026 Team Academic Award by meeting the award's team GPA standard. Austin College said its volleyball program was one of seven SCAC teams to receive the 2025-26 AVCA Team Academic Award and that it was the program's fourth straight year receiving the honor.