Over the summer of 2025, Eureka College made the decision to add men’s volleyball to their athletics program. The school made this decision to bring more diversity to Eureka College athletics. But to say that their inaugural season was a success would be an understatement.
Eureka men’s volleyball began their season in September, not with games, but with daily 6AM practices. While the majority of Eureka was asleep, the men’s volleyball team was refining their ability. After a full month of morning practices, men’s volleyball got their first opportunity to showcase their talent for the school.
On October 31st, men’s volleyball had their first maroon vs gold scrimmage.
“I feel like it was a nice game, to show how the team is to the Eureka college community,” said freshman Javier Palacio.
In the fall, men’s volleyball participated in several events to prepare for their spring season. They traveled to Culver-Stockton College to play a handful of scrimmage matches against Culver-Stockton College, Westminster College, and Bradley University.
Additionally, they traveled to play in the Cougar Classic at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where they showcased their talents. They would end up going a perfect 5-0 and winning the whole tournament.
To end the preseason, Eureka hosted a scrimmage tournament of their own against Rockford University, St. Mary’s-of-the-woods College, and Franklin College. While the results of this tournament did not affect overall record, it did give them reps before their spring season.
“I think my expectations were always high for this group. I just felt more confident in the expectations as the year went on,” said Head Coach Noah Ray.
After a successful preseason, Eureka men’s volleyball began their regular season. They played their first home match in school history on January 23rd, where they beat Illinois Wesleyan University 3-1. Unfortunately, their winning streak came to an end when they hosted St. Thomas University who, at the time, was the #3 ranked NAIA men’s volleyball team in the nation.
Due to Eureka’s success in the preseason the Midwest Plains Volleyball Conference (MWPVC) asked if Eureka College would host the MWPVC East regionals. Eureka Accepted. In the regionals Eureka once again showed up. Going undefeated and winning the East region.
“After winning the final point everyone jumped out of their seats, the bench ran onto the court, high fives and hugs were exchanged and screams were echoed into the lobby and throughout the gym,” said freshman Zamian Freeman.
After regionals, Eureka played a handful of non-conference matches, all at home, winning all their games, before traveling to Aurora, IL, to compete in the Midwest D2 Invitational, sweeping their first two rounds, followed by several more wins, before their elimination.
Following Eureka’s first losing streak of the season, they traveled to Mattoon, IL to compete in the MWPVC D2 Conference Tournament. Despite coming into the tournament on a 2-game skid, Eureka returned to their winning ways. Eureka went 7-0 in their matches, 14-0 in their sets, and would bring Eureka College a conference championship.
“The guys worked so hard this school year. I was really happy that they got to see their hard work pay off.”. Said Coach Ray after winning the MWPVC Championship.
Coming off a conference championship, Eureka hit another bump in the road. Eureka played three non-conference games against Greenville again, Augustana University, and Illinois Wesleyan again. They would go on to drop all three games to end their non-conference schedule.
Eureka traveled to Kansas City, MO to compete in the NCVF D2 Nationals Tournament. Like the D2 invite they won their first two matches in straight sets, but their last game was more of a test. Sacred Heart took Eureka to 3 sets but would ultimately fall, making Eureka the winners of pool g.
Following another intense first day, Eureka could not match the success they had. They faced the University of San Fransico where they would drop that game 1-2 and later would face #15 Parker University, where they lost 0-2. With a disappointing showing on day 2, Eureka would be put in the silver bracket.
Day 3 was the final day of not only the tournament, but the season for Eureka. Eureka started day 3 by facing Sacred Heart for a second time, again coming out 2-1. In round two Eureka faced (RV) University of Maryland Baltimore County. Eureka dropped the first set, but with their backs against the wall would fight back to win 2-1 and advance to the silver bracket championship, facing Xavier University, but ultimately losing 0-2.
Eureka finished 18th in the NCVF D2 nationals and as of 4/23/2026 Eureka finished ranked 9th in the NCVF power rankings. Overall, Eureka Men’s volleyball finished their inaugural season with a 38-9 record and a perfect 18-0 conference record. With such a successful first season for men’s volleyball, expectations are through the roof for this team heading into their sophomore season.
“My hopes and expectations for this program are to keep going. We accomplished a lot this year, but I want more. We have a lot of talent returning and new faces coming in. I want to see us compete at a high level and beat what we did this year,” said Ray.
