Bushnell volleyball delivered the strongest campaign in program history in 2025, hosting and winning an NAIA Opening Round game and qualifying for the NAIA National Championship Final Site for the first time.
The Beacons established themselves quickly with three straight sweeping victories at the Raider Invitational in mid-August, but battled through their first adversity a week later at the Hope International Summer Slam where they dropped three straight contests, all going to a fifth-set tiebreak.
The first home game of the season also did not go Bushnell's way as they dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 13-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Playing in the toughest conference in the NAIA, the Beacons opened up CCC action with a loss at the hands of No. 4-ranked Corban University, but quickly turned things around as they won five of their next six matches including top-25 wins over The College of Idaho and Southern Oregon.
The highlight of the regular season, and a signature win that helped propel the Beacons in the eyes of national raters, came on October 8 as Bushnell took the rematch from No. 4 Corban at home, 3-2. It was the biggest CCC win in program history, and the highest ranked opponents ever defeated by Bushnell. At the time the win elevated the Beacons to sole possession of fourth-place in the CCC, and when the dust settled on the conference circuit, the Beacons were 13-7 and tied for third-place, their highest finish ever.
As the No. 3-seed for the conference tournament, the Beacons earned a bye into the quarterfinals where they knocked off Northwest University before falling to Corban in the semis.
With a stacked resume that included nine victories over teams that qualified for the NAIA tournament and a battle-tested ten five-set contests, Bushnell entered the post-season ranked No. 19 in the country and were selected as one of 24 NAIA Opening Round hosts for the first time in school history. Bushnell welcomed MidAmerica Nazarene into the Morse Center as they looked to win an Opening round game for the first time in four tries, and they did just that, rolling to a 3-0 victory over the Pioneers.
The Beacons advanced to the NAIA Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa for the first time in school history and found themselves placed in a tough group for pool play where they were to face No. 6-ranked Bellevue and No. 9 Oklahoma Wesleyan, who had defeated Bushnell in Eugene back in August.
The first-ever final-site game for the Beacons did not go how they would have like, falling to Bellevue 3-0. Bushnell, however, rebounded strong as they claimed a sweep of their own against OKWU to finish out pool play with a 1-1 split. The win gave the Beacons their school-record 22nd win of the season.
Post-season accolaides were plenty for the Beacons, led by the best-ever No. 15 national ranking in the final NAIA national coaches poll. Senior
Hailey Heider earned First-Team All-CCC honors and was named NAIA 2nd-Team All-American, while senior
Leah Agost also claimed First-Team All-CCC recognition. Junior
Amyah Semau garnered Second-Team honors, and junior
Soleil Sands received an honorable mention.
The program's success extended to the coaching staff. Marlee Smith was named AVCA West-Region Assistant Coach of the Year, and Head Coach Jason Corwin celebrated a career milestone, surpassing 200 career coaching win. He will enter the 2026 campaign with 215 total victories including 143 at the helm of the Beacons.
Top-Ten Stories of 2025-2026
#10 - Men's Basketball Shocks SOU in CCC Quarterfinals
#9 - Diamond Sluggers Come in Clutch
#8 - Putting the "Student" in Student-Athlete
#7 - Record Breaking Season for Track & Field
#6 - Women's Soccer Sets Wins Record
#5 - Beach Volleyball Reaches New Heights
#4 - Bushnell Launches Wrestling Program
#3 - Men's Soccer Wins in Dramatic Shootout
#2 - Another Historic Season for Bushnell Volleyball
#1 - July 15
