Rattlers Open 2026 Season at Betty Austin Invitational

8/25/2026 8:48:00 AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida A&M volleyball, tabbed as the preseason favorite to win a third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, opens its 2026 season this weekend at the Betty Austin Invitational in Huntsville, Alabama.

The two-time defending SWAC champion Rattlers will play three matches in the neutral-site tournament, facing North Carolina Central, Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore across two days.

2026 Betty Austin Invitational Schedule

Friday, Aug. 28 - vs. North Carolina Central, 11 a.m., Huntsville, Ala.
Friday, Aug. 28 - vs. Delaware State, 5 p.m., Huntsville, Ala.
Saturday, Aug. 29 - vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, 1 p.m., Huntsville, Ala.

Florida A&M enters the season having won 200 points and six first-place votes in the SWAC's preseason coaches' poll, released this week, edging Prairie View A&M (190 points, five first-place votes) for the top spot. Jackson State was picked third with 170 points, followed by Alabama A&M (167, four first-place votes) and Alabama State (164, one first-place vote) to round out the top five. Bethune-Cookman was picked sixth, followed by Southern, Texas Southern, Grambling State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State to complete the 12-team predicted order of finish. The poll is voted on by the conference's head coaches, who are prohibited from voting for their own programs.

The Rattlers return the bulk of a roster that won the 2025 SWAC Tournament championship as the No. 8 seed and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, capping a season in which Florida A&M claimed back-to-back league titles.

Four Rattlers were named to the Preseason All-SWAC Team ahead of the season. Sophomore LaDonna Trantham, the reigning SWAC Freshman of the Year, earned Preseason All-SWAC First Team honors at outside/right side hitter after leading the team in kills (336) and topping the conference in points per set (3.32) and kills per set (2.91) as a freshman. Junior Sydney Whitfield (outside/right side hitter), senior Farah Farooq (middle hitter/blocker) and junior Makenzie Taylor (setter) were each tabbed to the Preseason Second Team.

Farooq, a two-time SWAC champion and SWAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member, led the conference last season in hitting percentage (.391) and total blocks (120). Taylor, the 2025 SWAC Tournament MVP, enters the season with 1,121 career assists and a third-place finish in assists per set (6.24) in the SWAC a year ago. Whitfield led the team with 27 service aces in her first season in Tallahassee.

Florida A&M's opening weekend in Huntsville will serve as an early measuring stick as the Rattlers begin their pursuit of a third straight SWAC crown.

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