by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. We have ranked 5 programs 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.
Looking for a different division or a related ranking? Use the shortcuts below.
Explore the leading programs below:
University of South Dakota tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Vermillion, SD. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 80%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $80,066, with expenses of about $80,066 per participant. The school awards about $9,323 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Sioux Falls came in at #2 on this year's ranking for Women's Volleyball. Located in Sioux Falls, SD, University of Sioux Falls is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $29,240, with expenses of about $27,851 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $5,811.
South Dakota State University ranked #3 among the best colleges for Women's Volleyball. South Dakota State University is a public school based in Brookings, SD. The team's NCAA APR score is 983, with a Graduation Success Rate of 85%. About 50% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Team revenue averages $49,446 per participant, compared with $49,446 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $6,424.
Northern State University came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Women's Volleyball. This public school is set in Aberdeen, SD. The program generates about $27,590 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $26,423 per participant. The school awards about $3,884 in athletic aid per athlete.
Black Hills State University earned the #5 place for student athletes. Black Hills State University is a public school based in Spearfish, SD. The program generates about $24,350 in revenue per athlete, compared with $23,765 spent per athlete. The school awards about $3,363 in athletic aid per athlete.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology weighs 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
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.