FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas Wesleyan University enters the 2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournamnet as the number two seed and will face off the with the number seven seed, the Golden Eagles of John Brown University. The opening round starts Tuesday night as the Rams look to finish better than their second place finish in last year's tournament.
How they got here
The Rams finished the season with a record of 19-11 and a conference record of 16-6. The Rams had a rocky start to the season as their non conference schedule included three teams ranked in the top 10 in the country. The Rams would face off with three eventual conference champions in their non conference schedule as University of Cumberlands (Ky.), McPherson College, and Texas A&M-Texarkana would all win their respective conference's regular season trophies. The Rams went 8-3 in each round of conference play, and secured the number two seed in the tournament as they defeated Wayland Baptist 3-1 in the final regular season match up.
The Golden Eagles enter the conference tournament after narrowly missing out last season. The Golden Eagles come into the tournament with a record of 17-13 overall and a conference record of 13-9. The Golden Eagles traveled for two non-conference tournaments in San Antonio, TX and in St. Louis, MO as they saw several different opponents that made some noise in their conference. The Golden Eagles had a strong start to conference play, emerging as a possible top four team in the conference final standings, unfortunately they fell in a couple of close matches in round two of conference play and fell to the number seven seed in the tournament.
Previous match ups
The Golden Eagles swept the Rams in the regular season with a 3-0 victory on Septmber 12 in Fort Worth, and a 3-1 victory on October 16 in Siloam Springs, AR. The Rams had a measly .122 hitting percentage in the first match up, followed by a .140 hitting percentage in the second match up. The Golden Eagles have given the Rams problems this season with several strong service aces and several key blocks to prevent any momentum for the Rams. The Rams are hot, winning seven of their last eight and looking to continue that momentum into the opening round match up against the Golden Eagles.
Notes
- The Rams lead the all-time series between the two teams with a record of 26-16
- Prior to this season, the Rams had won the previous nine match ups
- The Rams are amongst one of the best teams in the country defensively, holding their opponents to a .128 hitting percentage in conference play
- John Brown is in the middle of the conference in almost every statistic, showcasing a balanced attack and defense
Players to watch
Texas Wesleyan
- Loes Peijnenburg // Jr. Middle Blocker
- 198 Kills, 109 Blocks (1.03 per set), 46 Service Aces
- Faith McClellan // Fr. Outside Hitter
- 225 Kills, 53 Blocks (0.60 per set)
John Brown
- Kate Carlson // So. Outside Hitter
- Olivia Tucker // So. Outside Hitter
The winner of the match up will advance to the final site taking place in Waxahachie, TX for the semifinal and final on November 13 and 14. Match times to be determined as the winner of this match up will face the winner of University of Science & Arts and Oklahoma City.
