| McNeese Women’s Volleyball Team 2026. Photo courtesy of McNeese Athletics |
| By Wyatt Junkmann and Mason Griffin The Poke Press Cowgirl Volleyball McNeese Head Coach Tayler Gray has had a rough start to the season in her debut as a Division I head coach with a 0-4 record. After falling 0-3 at the Bearkat Invitational, they continued the losing streak, falling to UL Lafayette on Sunday. McNeese will continue its nine-match road stretch to open the season with matches across Texas and Louisiana. The Cowgirls will not play at home until Sept. 19th when they will face off with Grambling State University. McNeese will face Rice University at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4th in the Rice Invitational in Houston, TX. Cowgirl Soccer A promising start of the 2026 season has started to take a turn for the worse, as the Cowgirls now ride a three game losing streak to match the three game win streak they had to start the season. McNeese Freshman Isabella Baltov scored the lone goal for the Cowgirls in the 39th minute of the game to respond to a goal scored by Ragin’ Cajuns minutes earlier, tying the game 1-1. Baltov, the 2025-2026 Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year, had three shots on the day and was assisted by fellow Freshman Ashley Guild to score McNeese’s goal, but UL Lafayette went on to score three more goals to secure the win. Cowboy Football McNeese opened the 2026 season and Southland Conference play with a 38-27 loss to No. 13 Stephen F. Austin Saturday night at Navarre Stadium. The Cowboys came out firing, jumping ahead 7–0 on the opening drive when Junior quarterback Jake Strong connected with senior wide receiver Elisha Edwards for a 45-yard touchdown. Stephen F. Austin responded with 24 unanswered points in the second quarter and took a 24–7 lead into halftime. The Lumberjacks extended their lead to 38–13 in the third quarter. McNeese continued to fight, however, with senior running back Omiri Wiggins providing a major spark with a 75-yard touchdown run and finished the night with 126 rushing yards on 12 carries. The Cowboys mounted a fourth-quarter comeback attempt, scoring twice to cut the deficit to 38–27 with 8:37 remaining but did not score again. After the game, McNeese Head coach Math Viator said he was pleased with this season’s opener compared to the 2025 season. “I thought our effort was great, kept playing, kept competing, got back in it you know which is something that I don’t think we did a very good job at at the beginning of last year,” Matt Viator said. Stephen F. Austin quarterback Gavin Rutherford finished with 302 passing yards and three touchdowns, while McNeese totaled 407 yards offense with Sophomore quarterback Devin Lippold throwing 118 yards and a touchdown and rushing for one touchdown. The Cowboys committed three turnovers during the game. McNeese will host Texas Wesleyan at 6:00 p.m. Saturday in a whiteout game at Navarre Stadium. |
