by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 55 schools for Women’s Volleyball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluates each program using a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
University of Southern California earned the #1 spot in this year's ranking for Women's Volleyball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Los Angeles, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 73%. Team revenue averages $162,638 per participant, with expenses of about $162,638 per participant. Athletic aid averages $40,006 per athlete.
University of California-Los Angeles is one of the top schools for Women's Volleyball, at #2. Located in Los Angeles, CA, University of California-Los Angeles is a public institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 997, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 85%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $138,512, compared with $138,512 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $24,306 per athlete.
University of San Diego earned the #3 place for student athletes. Located in San Diego, CA, University of San Diego is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 100%. Team revenue averages $113,979 per participant, with expenses of about $113,979 per participant. The school awards about $19,537 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of California-Berkeley ranked #4 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Berkeley, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 995, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 100%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $159,644, against $159,644 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,267.
California Institute of Technology is one of the top schools for Women's Volleyball, at #5. This private not-for-profit school is set in Pasadena, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $15,429, with expenses of about $15,429 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Pepperdine University ranked #6 on our 2026 list for Women's Volleyball. Based in Malibu, CA, Pepperdine University is a private not-for-profit institution. Pepperdine University records an NCAA APR of 1000, alongside a GSR of 93%. The federal graduation rate stands at 92%. The program generates about $89,991 in revenue per athlete, against $89,991 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $27,861.
Stanford University did well this year, earning the #7 position. Based in Stanford, CA, Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution. Stanford University records an NCAA APR of 977, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 100%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $247,102, with expenses of about $247,102 per participant. The school awards about $42,012 in athletic aid per athlete.
Chapman University landed the #8 spot this year. Chapman University is a private not-for-profit school based in Orange, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $9,218, against $9,218 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Point Loma Nazarene University landed the #9 spot this year. Based in San Diego, CA, Point Loma Nazarene University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $43,004 per participant, compared with $42,700 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $14,927 per athlete.
Loyola Marymount University placed #10 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Loyola Marymount University is a private not-for-profit institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 988, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 70%. Team revenue averages $106,114 per participant, compared with $106,114 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $40,056.
California Baptist University did well this year, earning the #11 position. Based in Riverside, CA, California Baptist University is a private not-for-profit institution. California Baptist University records an NCAA APR of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 67%. Team revenue averages $79,410 per participant, with expenses of about $76,810 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $23,790.
Occidental College did well this year, earning the #12 position. This private not-for-profit school is set in Los Angeles, CA. The program generates about $8,835 in revenue per athlete, compared with $8,283 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of California-Santa Cruz placed #13 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Located in Santa Cruz, CA, University of California-Santa Cruz is a public institution. Team revenue averages $16,672 per participant, compared with $16,672 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
California State University-Fresno placed #14 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Fresno, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 995, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 50%. Team revenue averages $103,870 per participant, compared with $103,870 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $15,577 per athlete.
Saint Mary's College of California came in at #15 in this year's ranking. Located in Moraga, CA, Saint Mary's College of California is a private not-for-profit institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 989, alongside a GSR of 92%. The federal graduation rate stands at 82%. Team revenue averages $92,597 per participant, with expenses of about $92,597 per participant. Athletic aid averages $18,999 per athlete.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo placed #16 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in San Luis Obispo, CA. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo records an NCAA APR of 997, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 92%. The program generates about $46,147 in revenue per athlete, against $46,147 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $10,344 per athlete.
California State University-Sacramento placed #17 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Sacramento, CA. The team's NCAA APR score is 994, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 90%. The program generates about $71,472 in revenue per athlete, against $71,472 in expenses. The school awards about $11,560 in athletic aid per athlete.
California State University-Northridge placed #18 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Located in Northridge, CA, California State University-Northridge is a public institution. California State University-Northridge records an NCAA APR of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. About 82% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $57,877 in revenue per athlete, compared with $59,209 spent per athlete. The school awards about $11,174 in athletic aid per athlete.
Santa Clara University came in at #19 in this year's ranking. This private not-for-profit school is set in Santa Clara, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 984, with a Graduation Success Rate of 92%. Its federal graduation rate is 77%. Team revenue averages $83,595 per participant, against $83,595 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $19,355 per athlete.
California Lutheran University ranked #20 on our 2026 list for Women's Volleyball. Located in Thousand Oaks, CA, California Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $12,106 per participant, with expenses of about $12,106 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Dominican University of California came in at #21 in this year's ranking. Based in San Rafael, CA, Dominican University of California is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $21,237, with expenses of about $21,237 per participant. Athletic aid averages $7,270 per athlete.
University of the Pacific did well this year, earning the #22 position. This private not-for-profit school is set in Stockton, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 978, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 54%. The program generates about $93,246 in revenue per athlete, compared with $93,246 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,596.
Biola University came in at #23 in this year's ranking. Biola University is a private not-for-profit school based in La Mirada, CA. Team revenue averages $33,845 per participant, with expenses of about $31,161 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $12,338.
University of Redlands placed #24 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Located in Redlands, CA, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $11,098 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $12,793 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
University of California-San Diego came in at #25 in this year's ranking. This public school is set in La Jolla, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 991, with a Graduation Success Rate of 93%. Its federal graduation rate is 75%. The program generates about $71,974 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $71,974 per participant. The school awards about $9,847 in athletic aid per athlete.
Not far behind, these colleges also placed near the top this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Programs are scored on a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
See our data sources and methodologies.
