INDIANAPOLIS – Lewis University was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll as the choice to win the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) volleyball title, the league office announced on Wednesday.
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 six first-place votes and 161 total points.
- The Flyers finished with a 26-7 overall record and 11-2 GLVC mark, winning their third-straight and 13th overall GLVC title in program history last year as the No. 2 seed at the Championship Tournament, extending their streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since 2006.
- Five-time GLVC Coach of the Year Lorelee Smith is back for her 18th season on the sideline leading the Flyers, sporting a 487-120 overall record and 243-31 GLVC mark.
- Lewis returns a pair of All-GLVC performers – graduate attacker Bella Ray and graduate libero Ally Hickey.
- Ray, a First Team All-GLVC selection, led the league in blocks per set (1.16) and finished fifth in hitting percentage (.347).
- Hickey tallied 5.15 digs per set to land third in the Conference and earn second-team honors.
No. 2 Missouri-St. Louis
- Received four first-place votes and 154 total points.
- UMSL is coming off a 34-2 season overall and perfect 13-0 Conference record to claim the GLVC Regular Season title and the top seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament.
- The Tritons earned their fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the semifinals for the second-straight season.
- Ryan Young heads into his 14th season as head coach of the Tritons after winning his third GLVC Coach of the Year award in 2023 and holding a 264-132 overall record and 150-69 Conference mark.
- UMSL returns the reigning GLVC Player of the Year in junior setter Caitlin Bishop.
- Bishop led Division II in total assists (1,525) and finished second in assists per set (12.50).
No. 3 Rockhurst
- Received four first-place votes and 148 total points.
- The Hawks earned the No. 4 seed at the GLVC Championship Tournament and made their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, finishing the season with a 22-8 record overall and 9-4 league mark.
- Trent Jones enters his fifth season at the helm of Rockhurst, holding a 74-35 career mark.
- The Hawks return all four All-GLVC players from last season, along with the 2023 GLVC Freshman of the Year – attacker Ali Olson.
- Graduate student Maureen Reilly paced DII in total digs (688) en route to winning her second-straight GLVC Libero of the Year award in 2023.
- Attackers Tera Reberry and Sarah Pyle are back with their setter Sarah Montague after the trio earned Second Team All-GLVC recognition last year.
- Olson was a defensive phenom during her first campaign, leading the Conference in total blocks (123).
No. 4 Quincy
- Received 131 total points.
- Quincy recorded a 24-6 overall record and 11-1 Conference mark to earn the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament and its second consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament.
- 2024 will be Mark Jones’ sixth campaign mentoring the Hawks, carrying a 100-46 mark into the season.
- The Hawks bring back a pair of First Team All-GLVC attackers in senior Emma Wijnbergen and junior Alice Pavan.
- Wijnbergen finished second in the league in kills per set (4.41) and points per set (5.06).
- Pavan landed top 10 in multiple GLVC categories, placing second in hitting percentage (.416); third in total blocks (120); and eighth in points per set (3.91).
Rounding out the poll respectively in fifth through 14th was Indianapolis (123 points), Maryville (106), Missouri S&T (86), Upper Iowa (81), McKendree (64), Illinois Springfield (62), Southwest Baptist (49), Drury (48), William Jewell (34), and Truman State (27).
The complete poll and voting results can be found below.
2024 GLVC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Place |
School |
Points (1st-Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Lewis |
161 (6) |
| 2 |
Missouri-St. Louis |
154 (4) |
| 3 |
Rockhurst |
148 (4) |
| 4 |
Quincy |
131 |
| 5 |
Indianapolis |
123 |
| 6 |
Maryville |
106 |
| 7 |
Missouri S&T |
86 |
| 8 |
Upper Iowa |
81 |
| 9 |
McKendree |
64 |
| 10 |
Illinois Springfield |
62 |
| 11 |
Southwest Baptist |
49 |
| 12 |
Drury |
48 |
| 13 |
William Jewell |
34 |
| 14 |
Truman State |
27 |