The 2026 season will be one of new faces for Florida Tech volleyball. Of the 18 players on this year's roster, nine are in their first season in Melbourne with six transfers and three freshmen. The good news for those players and fans is they enter a program eager to welcome them and get started with the business of winning.

"In the spring, our entire team put so much effort into creating our own culture," says senior setter Natalie Rhodes. "Obviously, we had a huge graduating class that left, and that took a lot of heart out of us but we did a lot of work pouring into us. What was awesome was at our last meeting in the spring, a lot of the girls who committed to us came for a visit and they were able to be a part of that meeting. They got to hear and understand what we want to do and what we want to be as a team. So, they were familiar with the ideas and familiar with the themes, so when they came in, they were ready to go."

"We trust each other on and off the court," says junior middle blocker Scarlett Kimbrell. "We're all committed to the same goals as a team, every week we set goals, we achieve them and everyone being committed to that really helps."

Among this year's transfer additions are outside hitter Olivia Bush (Northwestern State), outside hitter Dora Filipovic (Albany), libero Brooke Menke (Le Moyne), libero Hanna Schneider (Cal Poly Pomona), setter Sophia Schneider (Lander) and middle blocker Zeynep Turkurkor (Arkansas State).

"Sophia and Brooke were with us all spring, and they had a fantastic spring," says fourth-year Head Coach Jordan Willis. "I'm looking forward to real competitions with them. Olivia is a left-handed right side that's going to help us out as far as blocking and attacking. Dora reminds me a lot of what Antia Vallecas Rodriguez was able to bring to us as far as skill set, serve/receive and defense."

The true freshmen joining them will be setter Aly Dennison (Beaufort, South Carolina), middle blocker Norah Hany (Johnston, Iowa) and libero McCoy Phister (Wichita, Kansas).

The new Panthers won't have to go it alone. Rhodes provided 254 assists and 76 digs as her role grew during 2025 and looks to feature prominently again this campaign in filling the role left by the graduated Kenzie Delacher. Kimbrell was second on the team in solo blocks with 13. Senior outside hitter Elisa Broggio returns for her second season in the Crimson and Gray after posting 174 kills, 98 digs, 66 blocks and 45 service aces last year. And of course, leading the way is senior outside hitter Cordelia Kearns. The Lake Mills, Wisconsin native earned her second straight AVCA First Team All-American nod in 2025 thanks to a campaign that saw her tally 505 kills, 342 digs, 27 blocks and 25 service aces.

Kearns enters 2026 as confident in her teammates and coaches as they are in her. She believes the principal lesson from last year's 15-13 (10-10 SSC) season was learning to enter each game with the expectation that opponents were no longer overlooking Florida Tech on the schedule and having poise in those big games are what can get them back to the NCAA Tournament.

"Last year, I think the thing that we struggled with the most was that people were taking us seriously," says Kearns. "But we weren't ready for the pressure of being taken seriously. I think this year, Coach has been doing a really good job of training us to keep our heads cool in those situations because people are looking out for us and we have to do a better job of mentally handling that. I think with all these meetings, he's doing a really good job of prepping us for the bigger games and the high-pressure situations."

It's not just duplicating the exceptional floor defense and solid serving of Kenzie Delacher, Courtney Capar and Kari Voelstad Bogen that offers a challenge for Tech this season. The trio, along with Ashley Rants, also served as the team's leadership group over the past few seasons. With that group having graduated, the responsibility falls to a new group of upperclassmen.

"They'll have really big shoes to fill," says sophomore middle Isabelle Clark, a Melbourne native from Holy Trinity Academy. "We love our graduated seniors, but we have a two-time All-American leading us on the court. We have a huge energy impact player like Scarlett, and then we have a player like Natalie, who's just like the mom of the team will do anything for any of us. They're just amazing people, and I'm so happy to be playing with them.

For Rhodes, a fellow Melbourne native who was high school teammates with Clark, the opportunity to lead her hometown college team is not lost on her.

"It's a complete honor to be a captain of the team," says Rhodes. "It's so amazing, and it's really helped me push myself as well as a leader and to set an example for the newcomers, and even for the returners and the younger girls too. Being able to help lead our team with our program and our themes and things like that, it just means so much to me as a person, and especially this being home and being able to show everyone my home."

During the first three years of her career, Kearns has tried to lead by example and through her play on the court but is not shying away from the chance to lead through deed and word.

"When it comes to off the court stuff, I do feel like a lot has changed, and I'm definitely taking this role a lot more serious," says Kearns. "Because in years past, it's kind of been like I take the volleyball seriously, but then off the court, it's just like everyone's buddy-buddy. But now as a captain, people are coming to me about issues and it's been really cool to experience it because now I feel like I can help everyone out as best as I can, which I'm enjoying a lot."

Kimbrell, a junior middle who saw a significant increase in playing time during 2025, being selected as a captain meant her teammates had taken notice of the work she had put in and took it as a sign to remain diligent in those habits.

"When I accepted the captain role, I kept a mindset that there is a reason my team voted for me," says Kimbrell. "They trust me, so I just need to stay true to myself, stay intentional and pay attention to the same details."

While the faces may change for the Crimson and Gray, Willis remains firm that the identity that's been a part of his teams during his first three years at Florida Tech will remain the same in 2026, no matter who dons the numbers on the jerseys.

"We're gonna serve tough, we're gonna play great floor defense, and we're gonna serve/receive well, that's it."

The Crimson and Gray's slate features nine opponents who reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Following Friday's opener in Daytona Beach against Edward Waters at 2 P.M., the Panthers will return to the ICI Center on Saturday to face St. Edward's and #16 ranked Missouri Western. Next weekend will see the team in Pubelo, Colorado for four games at the Royce Cappis Invitational, an occasion that takes on a deeper meaning for Willis and assistant coach PuaLehua Keola.

"I coached there for five years as an assistant. I recruited Pua there, she played there and graduated," says Willis. "The current head coach [at CSU-Pueblo] was a former teammate of Pua's, also a player that I had recruited and got to coach for four years. The head coach is a former assistant of mine at Otero Junior College when I was there for my first head coaching stint, and the new assistant there was on the first team when I was in my first assistant year at Pueblo. Royce Cappis was a beloved figure in the volleyball scene in Pueblo. He was a good friend, a mentor and really close with Coach Pua. His wife will be there, as well as his kids and grandkids, which will be awesome to see again."