MAGNOLIA, Ark. – No. 12 Central Oklahoma makes its 2026 season debut this week when the Bronchos play four matches in three days at the Mulerider Volleyball Tournament.
UCO opens at 6 p.m. Thursday against host Southern Arkansas at the W. T. Watson Center on the SAU campus. The Bronchos come back Friday to face Texas-Tyler at 12 p.m. and Arkansas-Monticello at 4 before finishing at 10 a.m. Saturday against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
SAU and UAM are both members of the Great American Conference, while UT-Tyler and TAMUK compete in the Lone Star Conference.
"We're excited about getting started," said head coach Edgar Miraku, who enters his 14th season with a stellar 329-99 record. "The team has been working really hard and I'm anxious to see what we can do.
"We have a young team with a lot of new players. It will be interesting to see how they react in a real match, but our veteran players provide great leadership. They want to continue building on UCO's volleyball tradition and success."
Central follows up this weekend's action with a trip to Shawnee next Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match against Oklahoma Baptist.
UCO returned eight players from last year's 27-6 team that made a second straight appearance in the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Leading that group is senior All-American libero Kaitlyn Parrott, who will spearhead an experienced back row defensive group. She was named MIAA Libero of the Year and finished among the national leaders in total digs (643) and digs per set (5.74) in 2025.
The Bronchos have back three other senior veterans in Sawyer Franz, Emma Halstead and Riley Roberts, with each expected to fill key leadership positions. The versatile Roberts will see action at setter and right-side hitter after amassing 402 digs with 120 kills last year, while Franz is set to help at outside hitter and Halstead at defensive specialist.
UCO's other returners are sophomores Jordyn Baker, Morgan Manning and Myla Unterweger along with redshirt freshman Taylor Nielsen.
Manning saw the most action of those three last year, finishing with 235 digs, and joins Baker to give the Bronchos outstanding depth at defensive specialist. Unterweger collected 115 kills and looks to play a bigger role at outside hitter this fall, while Nielsen will see plenty of time at setter.
Nine new players – five freshmen, three sophomores and a junior – round out the roster. Sophomore Georgia Ahlert is expected to have a big impact at middle blocker and several other newcomers should also contribute immediately.
