INDIANAPOLIS – Lewis University was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll as the choice to win the 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) volleyball title, the league office announced on Tuesday.
The preseason poll is selected by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
No. 1 Lewis
- Received eight first-place votes and 140 total points.
- Ranked No. 21 in AVCA preseason coaches' poll.
- Won 11th GLVC title in program history last year, continuing streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since 2006, finishing with a 26-7 record.
- Five-time GLVC Coach of the Year Lorelee Smith is back for her 16th season on the sideline leading the Flyers, sporting a 439-104 record.
- First Team All-GLVC honorees Lauren Stenman and Juliana Van Loo return to a team that went 26-7 a year ago.
No. 2 Missouri-St. Louis
- Received three first-place votes and 131 total points.
- Recevied votes for 44 total points in AVCA preseason coaches' poll.
- UMSL is coming off a 25-9 season where it won the first-round NCAA Tournament match against Lewis before falling to top-seeded Ferris State in the second round.
- Ryan Young heads into his 13th season as the head coach of the Tritons and was named the GLVC Coach of the Year in 2019.
- The 2021 GLVC Player of the Year and Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year Charlotte Richards is back after averaging a league-best 4.66 kills per set in GLVC play a season ago.
No. 3 Rockhurst
- Received one first-place vote and 117 total points.
- Made seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last year, finishing the season with a 20-12 record.
- Second Team All-GLVC libero Maureen Reilly highlights the returners for the Hawks after finishing second in the Conference in blocks with 1.23 per set.
- The Hawks will host the Rockhurst Invitational to open the season, as they host Black Hills State, Hillsdale, Minnesota State-Mankato, and Missouri Western State.
No. 4 Missouri S&T
- Received 104 total points.
- Andy Halaz enters his fifth season with the Miners, making appearances in the last three Conference tournaments and ending last season with a 19-11 record.
- Outside hitter Jordan Burton enters her junior season after averaging 3.15 kills per set last year on her way to being named Second Team All-GLVC.
- Middle hitter Shelby Ply returns, as well, after hitting .324 last year to rank seventh in the league.
No. 5 Quincy
- Received 97 total points.
- Mark Jones enters his fourth season with Quincy, taking his team to the GLVC Tournament each of the last two seasons and a 18-13 record in 2021.
- The Hawks return a pair of First Team All-GLVC selections in setter Makayla Knoblauch and outside hitter Emily Rehagen.
- The 2021 GLVC Freshman of the Year Emma Wijnbergen is also back after recording a hitting percentage of .237 and 241 kills in her first season on campus.
Rounding out the poll was Drury – which also garnered the other first-place vote – and Indianapolis with 89 points each for sixth, while seventh through 13th respectively included Illinois Springfield (66), Maryville (50), McKendree (46), Southwest Baptist (45), William Jewell (23), and Truman State (17).
The complete poll and voting results can be found below.
2022 GLVC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Place |
School |
Points (1st-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Lewis |
140 (8) |
| 2 |
Missouri-St. Louis |
131 (3) |
| 3 |
Rockhurst |
117 (1) |
| 4 |
Missouri S&T |
104 |
| 5 |
Quincy |
97 |
| 6 |
Drury |
89 (1) |
|
Indianapolis |
89 |
| 8 |
Illinois Springfield |
66 |
| 9 |
Maryville |
50 |
| 10 |
McKendree |
46 |
| 11 |
Southwest Baptist |
45 |
| 12 |
William Jewell |
23 |
| 13 |
Truman State |
17 |