Published for West Michigan Queens fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 24, 2026
🏐 West Michigan Queens Fans — Your Reign Is Rising!
Two seasons in, and already moving up. The Queens announced their promotion to VLA Tier 1 on October 10, 2026, and the top-tier era opens this January. This is Grand Rapids volleyball, built by local college stars — wear the purple and gold and reign with them.
The Club
The West Michigan Queens are Grand Rapids’ own senior women’s semi-pro volleyball team — an adult roster of Michigan college alumnae, including standouts from Ferris State and Aquinas College, playing in the Volleyball League of America (VLA). Organized as a nonprofit in 2024 and first documented on court in 2025, the Queens carry a purple-and-gold royalty identity built around a shield crest with an interlocked “WM” monogram, a gold crown and a gold star. The club played in the VLA’s Tier 2 Central Division in 2025 and 2026 — then, on October 10, 2026, posted the graphic every fan had been waiting for: “WELCOME TO TIER 1.” From 2027, the Queens step up to the league’s top tier. The club builds its roster close to home, holding open tryouts at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, just outside Grand Rapids. Searching for a West Michigan Queens jersey, the latest Queens roster or the Queens schedule? Start here — this is the fan guide for the team putting West Michigan on the national semi-pro map.
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Last Season (2026): The Final Tier 2 Run
The Queens’ 2026 campaign in the VLA’s Tier 2 Central Division bookended a season of steady climbing. It opened on February 22, 2026, at the Unicorn Power League in Cincinnati, Ohio — billed by the club as its “first games of season” — with an eight-player travel roster making the cross-state trip. From there the spring built toward the biggest stage in American adult volleyball: the USA Volleyball Adult Open National Championships, May 22–24, 2026, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the same event that hosts the VLA Championships. The club framed Nationals as “the season’s final event,” its matches streamed on BallerTV, and the Queens closed the year in their new lavender primary jerseys — the speckled light-purple top that fades to deep purple at the hem, with a huge gold number on the back. The nine-player Nationals roster poster is the definitive snapshot of the 2026 Queens: Deerman, Vander Meer, Scholten, Jacquay, Phommavongsa, Visnovsky, Perkins, Jozefczyk and Zwart. One honest note for the record books: the club does not publish results, standings or a Nationals placing, so no finish is claimed here — and none is needed. What the season pointed to became official a few months later: this team was ready to move up.
Best Players Right Now (2026 Roster)
Megan Vander Meer, Outside Hitter (#4) — A Grand Rapids native and the most decorated Queen. At Ferris State she was an AVCA Division II All-America First Team selection and a D2CCA All-America Third Team pick in 2015, with All-GLIAC First Team honors in both 2014 and 2015. She wore #4 in both Queens seasons — the constant at the heart of the roster.
Hannah Phommavongsa (#9) — The face of the club. Phommavongsa is the featured player cutout on the 2025 lineup graphic and the 2026 Nationals poster, and a back-view figure on the Tier 1 announcement. A two-season core player, she switched from #7 in 2025 to #9 for 2026 — if you see a Queens poster anywhere in West Michigan, you are probably looking at her.
Kendra Zwart (#21) — The centerpiece of the next era. Zwart stands front and center, in the black kit, on the club’s October 2026 “WELCOME TO TIER 1” poster — and she was part of the nine-player squad that closed the 2026 season at Nationals in Orlando.
Alena Visnovsky (#11) — A two-season roster constant who kept #11 across both the 2025 and 2026 campaigns, and one of the eight players who traveled to Cincinnati to open the 2026 season in February.
Rachel Jacquay (#8) — Another Queen who wore the same number both seasons. Her #8 back is visible in match footage from the 2026 Nationals in Orlando, matching the official roster poster exactly.
Danielle Jozefczyk (#16) — Held #16 in both documented seasons, and like Jacquay, her numbered back can be spotted in the 2026 Nationals match frame — gold digits on lavender.
Shelby Deerman (#2) — Took over the #2 shirt for 2026 and earned her place on the nine-player Nationals roster in Orlando.
Jenn Scholten (#5) — Part of the 2026 Nationals squad that carried the Queens through their final Tier 2 season.
Abbi Perkins (#15) — Rounded out the nine-player roster the club took to the USA Volleyball Adult Open National Championships in May 2026.
Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
An All-American comes home. Most semi-pro rosters are built on promise; the Queens are built around proof. Megan Vander Meer starred at Ferris State, earning AVCA Division II All-America First Team honors in 2015 — one of the highest individual awards in college volleyball — along with All-GLIAC First Team selections in back-to-back years. A decade on, the Grand Rapids native is still the headline name on her hometown team’s roster poster, wearing the same #4 she wore in the club’s first season. When the Queens say they are built from Michigan college talent, Vander Meer is the standard everyone else is measured against.
The face on the poster. Every young club needs a player who becomes its visual identity — the one the graphics team builds around. For the Queens, that is Hannah Phommavongsa. She was the featured cutout on the 2025 lineup graphic, the face of the 2026 Nationals poster, and the back-view figure in the lavender #9 on the Tier 1 announcement itself. Even her number tells the story of a growing club: #7 in the first season, #9 for the Nationals run and the promotion era. Two seasons, two posters, one face — hers.
Welcome to Tier 1. On October 10, 2026, the club posted three words that changed everything: “WELCOME TO TIER 1.” Kendra Zwart stood at the center of the graphic in the black kit, wearing #21. The promotion rewards two documented seasons of work — a VLA Cup debut in 2025, a Tier 2 Central campaign in 2026, a Nationals finale in Orlando — and it moves the Queens into the VLA’s top women’s tier for 2027. Small-market, nonprofit, community-built: West Michigan just earned its seat at the top table.
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This Season (2027): The Tier 1 Debut
The encore is a step up in class. After two seasons in Tier 2 Central, the Queens take their place in the VLA’s Tier 1 when the 2027 season opens in January 2027 — the full fixture list has not been released yet. The roster build is happening right now, close to home: the club scheduled open tryouts on October 11, 18 and 25, 2026, from 3–5 PM at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, Michigan, with the final session completing the Tier 1 squad. The core that earned promotion — Vander Meer, Phommavongsa, Zwart and the rest of the nine-player Nationals roster — gives the Queens a settled foundation most promoted teams would envy, and the tryout trail adds the next wave of Michigan college talent around them. Frame 2027 honestly: not a title defense, but a promotion season — Grand Rapids’ semi-pro side testing itself against the league’s best, in purple and gold.
Mark Your Calendar: The Road Ahead
Circle the dates ahead, Queens fans — the Tier 1 era starts now — and relive the two 2026 weekends that carried West Michigan up a level:
- October 25, 2026 — Final open tryout, Forest Hills Eastern High School, Ada: The last 3–5 PM session of the 2026-27 tryout series completes the roster build for the Tier 1 debut. This is where next season’s Queens are picked.
- January 2027 — Tier 1 season opener: The Queens’ first top-tier campaign begins on the VLA’s January calendar. Exact dates and opponents are still to be announced — watch for the fixture drop.
- Relive it — May 22–24, 2026, Nationals in Orlando: The 2026 season finale at the USA Volleyball Adult Open National Championships, where the Queens closed their Tier 2 run in the lavender kit on the sport’s biggest adult stage.
- Relive it — February 22, 2026, the season opener in Cincinnati: The “first games of season” at the Unicorn Power League, where an eight-player travel roster started the year that ended in promotion.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. The Central Division field — the Midwest measuring stick. In Tier 2 Central, the Queens’ peers were the league’s other Midwest women’s clubs, with the Chicago and Milwaukee sides the nearest rivals on the map. From 2027, West Michigan leaves that field behind — and every old divisional opponent will measure itself against the team that got promoted first.
2. The Cincinnati connection — the season-opening road trip. The Queens open their year at the Unicorn Power League in Cincinnati, an event run by the Ohio Valley Unicorns’ organization. It is the closest thing this young club has to a recurring opponent circuit: a cross-state trip, a gym full of Central Division talent, and an early read on who has improved over the winter.
3. The Tier 1 leap — the promotion itself. Honestly, the Queens’ biggest rivalry in 2027 is the step up. Tier 1 brings a new field of top-tier opponents, and a Grand Rapids roster built from Michigan college alumnae gets to test itself against the best the VLA offers. The promotion is the story — the wars start in January.
4. The Nationals stage — Orlando in May. The VLA season now ends where the league’s best gather: the USAV Adult Open National Championships in Orlando. The Queens reached that proving ground in 2026 to close their Tier 2 run. Returning as a Tier 1 team is the next frontier — and the standard every Queens season will be judged by.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When do the West Michigan Queens play next?
The Queens open their first Tier 1 season in January 2027 on the Volleyball League of America calendar, with fixtures still to be announced. Before that, the club holds its final 2026-27 open tryout on October 25, 2026 at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, Michigan.
Where are the West Michigan Queens based?
The Queens are a senior women’s semi-pro team based in the Grand Rapids area of West Michigan — the club’s nonprofit is registered in Kentwood. The club trains and holds its tryouts at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, Michigan.
What league and division do the West Michigan Queens play in?
The Volleyball League of America (VLA) women’s division. The Queens played in Tier 2 Central in 2025 and 2026, and announced their promotion to Tier 1 on October 10, 2026 — their Tier 1 debut comes in the 2027 season.
Where can I buy West Michigan Queens fan gear?
Toxlay Sports offers fan-inspired apparel for Queens supporters — fan-designed gear made for real fans. Note that fan-inspired apparel is not official VLA licensed merchandise.
Sources: Volleyball League of America, West Michigan Queens club announcements, USA Volleyball — schedules, rosters and records checked October 2026.
Reign on — Tier 1 is calling, and West Michigan is ready.
