About the Program

The women's volleyball team at Bowdoin College was instituted as a varsity sport in 1986. The program met with success often in their first several seasons. The team peaked with a program-best record of 22-12 in 1988 and returned to prominence in 2006, posting an overall mark of 20-11.

A new era of Bowdoin Volleyball started in 2001 under the changed rally score game format. Strong recruiting brought in a new generation of volleyball players from across the nation. The NESCAC conference play escalated to one of the strongest leagues in the Northeast.

The 2011 campaign was clearly the strongest in program history.  They completed regular season play undefeated in conference play (10-0), won the conference tournament, and advanced to the NCAA round of 32.   The Polar Bears ended with a final 26th ranking the NCAA National Poll.

The NESCAC conference tournament winner is awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. The Polar Bear team is consistently competitive in conference play and has regularly qualified for the conference championship tournament. The team also competes in the well-known MIT Invitational and the respected Hall of Fame tournament where they face top teams across New England.