TURLOCK, Calif.--- Stan State volleyball opens its 2026 season this week with three matches at the Sunbird Classic at Fresno Pacific. The Warriors begin the three-day tournament Thursday, Aug. 27, against Western Oregon before facing Hawai'i Hilo on Friday and Jessup on Saturday.

Flowers Enters Fifth Season
Lauren Flowers enters her fifth season at the helm of the Stan State volleyball program in 2026. Flowers has guided the Warriors to a 63-49 overall record and owns a .563 career winning percentage, the highest of any head coach in program history. Her 63 victories rank fourth on Stan State's all-time coaching wins list, just two behind Mallori Gibson-Rossi (65). Flowers trails only Christina Lore (82), Cindy Nikkel (78) and Gibson-Rossi in career victories.

Flowers has guided the Warriors to three CCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons, including the program's first CCAA Tournament championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. Her tenure also includes the program-record-tying 19-win season in 2022 and a program-best 22 victories in 2024.

Picked Fifth in CCAA Preseason Poll
Stan State was picked to finish fifth in the 2026 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Warriors received 134 points, just three points behind fourth-place Fresno Pacific. The fifth-place selection ties the highest the Warriors have been picked in the CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll under head coach Lauren Flowers, as Stan State was also picked fifth prior to the 2025 season. Cal Poly Pomona was selected as the CCAA preseason favorite with 188 points and nine first-place votes.

Warriors' 2026 Roster
Stan State enters the 2026 season with a 17-player roster featuring five seniors, eight juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Seniors Leah Mendoza, Irene London, Emily Meyer, Lauren Hamilton and Maggie Olson provide the veteran presence for the Warriors. The roster also features seven transfers, while freshmen Soraya Forbes and Bailey Morrison begin their collegiate careers this fall.

Returning Warriors
Stan State returns several key contributors from a 2025 team that finished 13-13 overall and 11-7 in CCAA play. The Warriors finished fourth in the CCAA regular-season standings and advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and the third time in the last four years.

Leah Mendoza returns after leading the Warriors with 391 digs and averaging 3.87 digs per set last season. Emily Meyer recorded 140 kills and 99 digs, while Fallon Freeman finished with 147 kills, a .243 hitting percentage and 47 total blocks.

In the middle, Lauren Hamilton recorded 53 total blocks in 41 sets while hitting .317, and Irene London totaled 68 blocks and hit .250. Reagan Wilkerson returns after recording 282 assists, 169 digs and a team-high 33 service aces, while Lauren Gonzales finished with 28 aces and 140 digs. Victoria Plumb added 29 aces during the 2025 campaign.

As a team, Stan State averaged 2.37 blocks per set in 2025 while holding its opponents to a .163 hitting percentage. The Warriors also averaged 15.15 digs and 1.55 service aces per set.

Success in the Classroom
Stan State continued its success in the classroom by earning the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. The honor marked the fourth consecutive year the Warriors have received the award and the ninth time overall in program history. The AVCA Team Academic Award recognizes programs that maintain a minimum cumulative team grade-point average of 3.30 during the academic year.

Seven Warriors earned 2025-26 CCAA All-Academic honors, while nine were named to the CCAA Fall Academic Honor Roll. Emily Meyer and Victoria Plumb earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, and Meyer was inducted into the Stan State chapter of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Honor Society.

Scouting Western Oregon
Western Oregon, coached by Kaiao Nahale-a, is coming off a 3-23 season in 2025, including a 2-16 mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Wolves averaged 11.44 kills, 15.71 digs, 1.79 service aces and 1.78 blocks per set while hitting .143 as a team.

Western Oregon returns several contributors from last season, including Samantha Darby, who recorded a team-high 661 assists along with 194 digs and 32 service aces. Finley Buman returns after hitting .249 with 95 kills and 56 total blocks, while Kate Klobas had 33 kills and 26 blocks. Madi Noel recorded 152 digs and 27 service aces, and Kilinoelehua Helm finished with 272 digs.

Stan State-Western Oregon Series
Stan State and Western Oregon have split their six previous meetings, 3-3. The Warriors won three consecutive matches in the series from 2018 through 2022, all in straight sets. Western Oregon won the most recent meeting, 3-0, on Aug. 31, 2023, in Turlock.

Scouting Hawai'i Hilo
Hawai'i Hilo enters the Sunbird Classic with a 2-0 record after opening the 2026 season with a pair of home victories. The Vulcans defeated Alaska Anchorage 3-2 on Aug. 20 before defeating Alaska Fairbanks 3-1 on Aug. 21. Through nine sets, Hawai'i Hilo is averaging 14.67 kills, 13.89 assists, 16.67 digs and 1.89 service aces per set while hitting .186.

Alohi Garcia has led the Vulcans offensively with 46 kills, averaging 5.11 kills per set, while adding 30 digs. Chase Koepke has 31 kills and is hitting .439, while Logan Blutreich has 24 kills with a .400 hitting percentage. Anolani Santos has directed the offense with 109 assists, averaging 12.11 per set. Maiah Kalima leads Hawai'i Hilo with 35 digs and five service aces.

Hawai'i Hilo will face Menlo at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, Aug. 28, at Fresno Pacific prior to its 4 p.m. match against Stan State.

Stan State-Hawai'i Hilo Series
Stan State and Hawai'i Hilo have split their two previous meetings, 1-1. The Vulcans won the first meeting in straight sets on Oct. 2, 2007, in Turlock. The Warriors evened the series with a 3-0 victory on Aug. 26, 2022, in Honolulu.

Scouting Jessup
Jessup is coming off an 11-13 season in 2025, including a 5-7 mark in conference play. The Warriors averaged 12.67 kills, 11.89 assists, 14.20 digs and 1.65 blocks per set while hitting .184 as a team.  Jessup returns five players who appeared in 2025. Megan Conway hit .315 with 23 kills and eight blocks, while August Stys recorded 12 kills and five service aces. Khaycee Jamias-Cadenas totaled 92 assists and 66 digs, McKinley King had 17 kills, and Caprisa Brock also returns.

Stan State-Jessup Series
Stan State holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series against Jessup. The Warriors won the first five meetings between the programs, including a 3-2 victory at the 2024 Sunbird Classic in Fresno. Jessup won the most recent meeting, 3-1, on Sept. 14, 2024, in Turlock.

Watch Warrior Athletics on FloCollege
Warrior fans can follow Stan State on FloCollege throughout the season when the Warriors compete at CCAA venues. All three matches at the Sunbird Classic can be seen live on FloCollege. A FloCollege subscription provides access to more than 12,000 events throughout the season and can be streamed through the FloSports app on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and mobile devices. Visit FloCollege.com to subscribe and follow the Warriors when they compete at CCAA venues.

Follow the Warriors Live
Live statistics for all three matches at the Sunbird Classic will be available through WarriorAthletics.com. Fans can follow live scoring, team and individual statistics, and match updates throughout each contest.

Up Next
Following the Sunbird Classic, Stan State travels to Denton, Texas, for four matches at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Corinth-Denton Volleyfest. The Warriors face Westminster and Southern Arkansas on Friday, Sept. 4, before taking on Southern Nazarene and host Texas Woman's on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Stan State begins CCAA play Thursday, Sept. 10, at Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata. The Warriors' home opener is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, against San Francisco State at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock.