by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 13 colleges for Women’s Volleyball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To help you decide, 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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University of Washington-Seattle Campus tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Seattle, WA. The team's NCAA APR score is 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 100%. Team revenue averages $78,879 per participant, against $181,108 in expenses. The school awards about $26,539 in athletic aid per athlete.
Whitman College landed the #2 spot for Women's Volleyball. Located in Walla Walla, WA, Whitman College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $12,351, compared with $10,685 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Gonzaga University landed the #3 spot for Women's Volleyball. Gonzaga University is a private not-for-profit school based in Spokane, WA. The team's NCAA APR score is 994, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 89%. The program generates about $98,658 in revenue per athlete, against $103,583 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $14,963 per athlete.
Washington State University landed the #4 spot for Women's Volleyball. Washington State University is a public school based in Pullman, WA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. About 73% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $47,095 in revenue per athlete, compared with $79,287 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $20,338 per athlete.
Pacific Lutheran University came in at #5 on this year's ranking for Women's Volleyball. Based in Tacoma, WA, Pacific Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $14,675, compared with $14,675 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Whitworth University came in at #6 in this year's ranking. Whitworth University is a private not-for-profit school based in Spokane, WA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $12,387, with expenses of about $12,386 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Seattle University came in at #7 in this year's ranking. This private not-for-profit school is set in Seattle, WA. The team's NCAA APR score is 983, with a Graduation Success Rate of 92%. The federal graduation rate stands at 56%. Team revenue averages $80,272 per participant, with expenses of about $80,272 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $19,482.
Western Washington University placed #8 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Located in Bellingham, WA, Western Washington University is a public institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $36,199, with expenses of about $36,199 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $3,961.
University of Puget Sound ranked #9 on our 2026 list for Women's Volleyball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Tacoma, WA. The program generates about $6,656 in revenue per athlete, compared with $6,656 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Seattle Pacific University placed #10 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Located in Seattle, WA, Seattle Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $26,220, compared with $26,220 spent per athlete. The school awards about $8,836 in athletic aid per athlete.
Eastern Washington University ranked #11 on our 2026 list for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Cheney, WA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 973, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 29%. The program generates about $60,473 in revenue per athlete, against $60,473 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $11,120.
Saint Martin's University placed #12 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. Saint Martin's University is a private not-for-profit school based in Lacey, WA. The program generates about $24,311 in revenue per athlete, against $24,311 in expenses. The school awards about $8,343 in athletic aid per athlete.
Central Washington University landed the #13 spot this year. Based in Ellensburg, WA, Central Washington University is a public institution. The program generates about $30,745 in revenue per athlete, against $29,535 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $6,377.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider 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.