As the 2026-27 academic year draws near, another WVU sport is just one month away from beginning its season: WVU Volleyball. Read more: One month out: WVU Volleyball.
In just one more month, the Mountaineers will travel to the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to face JMU in its first match of the season. The match will tip off at 3 p.m. on August 22.
West Virginia returns following its first .500 season since 2021. With multiple returning players and newcomers, the Mountaineers are aiming to carry its success into the new season.
Solid returning core
The 2026 WVU Volleyball team features many returning players, including its top three leaders in points this past season.
Related: Season in review: WVU Volleyball
Senior outside hitter Nina Horning led the squad with 385.5 points this past season and is set to return for the upcoming season. She was also the team leader in kills with 324.
A 2025 All-Big 12 Second Team honoree opposite hitter, Trinity Sheridan, is also returning for her senior season. This past season, she was second behind Horning in points (360.5) and kills (318).
The third leader in points (267) and returning next season is senior middle blocker Maddy McGath. She was the team leader in hitting percentage at .331 and, among the returning players, the leader in blocks with 103.
The 2025 team leader in assists (755) and service aces (54) is also returning next month, redshirt senior setter Alexis Finnvold. In addition to leading the team, she was top 20 in the nation in service aces.
Finnvold also had the most digs of returning players with 212.
Other returning players include:
- Anna Barr – Sophomore right side hitter
- Tally Grissom – Junior defensive specialist/libero
- Eily Painter – Junior defensive specialist/libero
Newcomers
WVU Volleyball added two international graduate students and eight freshmen for the upcoming season.
International players
Lucie Šmardová joins the roster as a defensive specialist/libero from Brno, Czech Republic. She has experience at the club level and on the Czech Republic’s national team, with accomplishments including a Czech Women’s Cup championship and U20 Czech Extraliga Champion.
The other international graduate student addition is middle blocker Sophia Fallah from Aachen, Germany. She has also competed at the club and national level, including a trip to the 2025 German Cup Semifinals.
Additionally, two incoming freshmen are also international players with professional experience in their home countries: Saar Bertels and Mirjam Kask.
Bertels is an outside hitter from Eppegem, Belgium. She competed with Asterix AVO Beveren and won the Belgian Liga A Championship, Belgian Cup, Belgian SuperCup, and two BeNe Cups.
Bask is a middle blocker from Kiili, Estonia, and competed with VA UNIZA Žilina. The club received first place in the Estonian Championships and second place in the Estonia Cup with Bask.
Other incoming freshmen
The remaining incoming freshmen played in various states across the U.S., including Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Montana, and Wisconsin.
From Indiana are defensive specialist/libero Reagan Turk (Indianapolis) and outside hitter/right side hitter Macie Smith (Cicero). Both were Class 3A All-State First Team selections.
Additionally, Turk was an Indiana Class 3A State Champion.
From Tennessee is setter Lauren Duncan of Brentwood. Before committing to WVU, she played with BYU in the spring. In high school, she was MaxPreps No. 1 player in Tennessee and No. 7 nationally.
WVU also adds middle blocker Camile Huff of Mobile, Alabama. She made history with her high school squad, McGill-Toolen Catholic, as the first team to ever four-peat the Alabama 7A State Championship.
Outside hitter Nula Anderson joins the Mountaineers from Bozeman, Montana. She was named the 2025 Eastern AA Player of the Year and was MaxPreps Top Player in Montana.
The last addition is defensive specialist/libero Cassidy Bruns of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. She was a 15 National Division club champion with Milwaukee Sting; a club she was a member of for ten years.
Coaching staff
Head coach Jen Greeny will lead the helm for WVU Volleyball in 2026 for her third season.
Related: Jen Greeny on Growth, Grit, and Building WVU Volleyball’s Foundation
Before WVU, Greeny was the head coach at her alma mater, Washington State, and Lewis-Clark State. Greeny played for Washington State from 1995-1998.
Greeny’s husband, Burdette Greeny, also returns as associate head coach. Before coaching with his wife, Greeny played baseball at Tacoma Community College and Washington State.
New to the coaching staff this season are assistant coaches Austin Buchanan and Eleanor Beavin. Buchanan is a two-time NCAA Men’s Volleyball Division I Champion with Hawaii, and Beavin is a former SEC Libero of the Year with Kentucky.
Key matchups
WVU Volleyball will play two non-conference tournaments at Hope Coliseum this upcoming season: Country Roads Challenge (August 28-30) and West Virginia Invitational (September 10-11).
The Mountaineers’ home opener will be during the Country Roads Challenge, when it faces UTRGV for the first time in program history on Friday, August 28 at 6 p.m.
WVU will face 12 2025 NCAA Tournament teams, including UMBC, Toledo, Arizona State, TCU, Utah, BYU, Arizona, Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, and Baylor.
The Mountaineers will kick off its 2026 conference slate against the 2025 Big 12 Volleyball Champions, Arizona State, at Hope Coliseum on Friday, September 25 at 6 p.m.
In 2025, WVU upset No. 19 BYU 3-2. The Mountaineers will face the Cougars again in Provo, Utah, on October 10.
Related: WVU Volleyball completes 2026 schedule with non-conference slate
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