PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Women's Volleyball Preseason All-Conference team on Tuesday afternoon, featuring Seattle Pacific's
Christina Lopez and
Megan Omlid as 2026 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Selections.
Lopez and Omlid return after successful 2025 seasons for the Falcons. They lead a group of 12 returners and four newcomers into the 2026 season that starts on Thursday at the Cal State San Bernardino Coyote Classic. SPU's 2026 squad was picked to finish sixth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, announced on Aug. 18.
"Awesome to see our conference recognize Christina and Megan as two of the top returners in the GNAC this year," head coach
Jason Rhine said. "Excited for both of them to compete together again later this week along with our whole squad."
Lopez appeared in 98 sets across 26 matches for the Falcons, leading the team with 476 digs and an average of 4.86 digs per set. Surpassed 1,000 career digs against Montana State Billings on Nov. 8 while adding 108 assists and 19 service aces. Finished the season with 21 points and earned GNAC Honorable Mention recognition.
"Christina has been impacting our team and the GNAC with her serve receive and defense for multiple years," Rhine said. "She continues to be a leader in practices and matches by setting the tone with her competitiveness and effort."
Omlid appeared in 98 sets across 26 matches for the Falcons, leading the team with 343 kills, 3.50 kills per set, 36 service aces, 394.5 points, and 4.03 points per set. She also ranked second on the team with 305 digs and 3.11 digs per set while adding five solo blocks and 21 assisted blocks for 26 total blocks. Omlid joined Lopez as a GNAC Honorable Mention last season.
"Megan had an awesome start to her career last year by racking up a lot of kills but also by being a reliable presence for us in defense and serving, along with her consistency while attacking," Rhine said. "She works hard every day in practice and is also a generous teammate and humble leader for our group."
The Falcons' 2026 schedule is loaded with quality opponents. They'll be tested early at the Cal State San Bernardino Coyote Classic on Aug. 27-29. The Falcons play Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on Aug. 28. The Broncos received votes, while the Coyotes are ranked 25
th in the country in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll.
The top five in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll either received votes or are ranked comfortably inside the AVCA Preseason Top 25. The Falcons will meet the Wildcats (RV), the Seawolves (RV), the Vikings (#20), the Nanooks (T-16) and the Red Leafs (#15) twice throughout the GNAC schedule.
The season gets underway on Aug. 27 at 5:00 p.m. when the Falcons play CUI in San Bernardino, Calif.
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