STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Beach Volleyball has signed one of the top NAIA players from the 2026 season, adding Abigail Nelson from Arizona Christian.
 
Nelson (5-10) went 26-2 overall last season, including a 13-1 mark in conference play in the GSAC (Great Southwest Athletic Conference). Nelson played on Courts 2-4 in her second season in Glendale, Arizona, going 1-0 on Court 2, 17-2 on Court 3 and 8-0 on Court 4. Nelson earned an AVCA Top Flight Award after going undefeated in the regular season and breaking two program records with her main playing partner, helping the Firestorm win two matches in the GSAC Championship and a match in the NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Invitational.
 
Nelson spent the last two seasons at Arizona Christian, going 9-13 on Court 3 in 2025, including a 5-5 mark in GSAC play. She also played one season for Bushnell in 2023, going 5-5 on Court 5 as a freshman. She started her collegiate career playing indoor volleyball at Puget Sound in 2022.
 
Nelson, an Edmonds, Washington, native, played three varsity seasons of indoor volleyball for King's High School in Shoreline, Washington. There she helped them to a conference championship, district championship and bi-district championship in 2019 as her team went 29-4 overall. That season she was named First Team Al-Conference and the team MVP.
 
At Tarleton State University, Nelson plans to pursue her master's degree in public administration. She graduated summa cum laude from Arizona Christian University, twice a spring sport scholar athlete and twice on the dean's list.