GRINNELL, Iowa – The Illinois College volleyball team will look to keep things rolling in 2019 after registering the program's best season in over two decades a year ago. On Monday, a vote of the Midwest Conference's head coaches revealed that the Lady Blues are once again among the favorites in the conference to reach the MWC Tournament.
The top four programs in the MWC Preseason Poll were the same four who contested the MWC Tournament in 2018. Cornell College enters as the preseason favorite in the conference, earning 81 points and nine first-place votes in the poll. St. Norbert College was in second place with 66 points and the remaining first-place vote. Grinnell College and Illinois College followed closely behind with the Pioneers in third with 63 points and the Lady Blues in fourth with 62 points.
Further down the conference standings, Lake Forest College was fifth with 50 points and Ripon College was sixth with 42 points. The point totals then dipped for the final four teams in the MWC with Lawrence University ending in seventh place with 25 points, Monmouth College taking eighth with 22 points, Beloit College in ninth with 21 points and Knox College rounding out the poll in 10th place with 18 points.
The Lady Blues bring four starters as well as libero
Madie Budd back for 2019. Three of those starters –
Elizabeth Ganley,
Ali Pankey and
Maddie Ramsey – earned All-MWC recognition a year ago. IC will rely on the experience of those four seniors, but also have an exciting group of newcomers who will have an impact right out of the gates.
Illinois College opens up the 2019 season at home this weekend with the Illinois College Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Blues host Rockford University on Friday night at 8 p.m. before wrapping up play with Simpson College (10 a.m.) and Anderson University (2 p.m.) on Saturday. MWC play opens with a road match at Knox College on Sept. 25 and the month of October brings a trip to Colorado College where the Lady Blues will play three matches in two days, two of which come against teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally in Division III. The home schedule closes out on Homecoming Weekend with back-to-back dates on Oct. 25 and 26 against Grinnell and Cornell.
The full preseason voting results are below:
| School |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1. Cornell |
81 (9) |
| 2. St. Norbert |
66 (1) |
| 3. Grinnell |
63 |
| 4. Illinois College |
62 |
| 5. Lake Forest |
50 |
| 6. Ripon |
42 |
| 7. Lawrence |
25 |
| 8. Monmouth |
22 |
| 9. Beloit |
21 |
| 10. Knox |
18 |
