The Midwest Conference released its 2018 Volleyball Coaches Poll on Wednesday and Lake Forest College was listed seventh in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters return 13 letter winners from last year, including three-time Second Team All-MWC selection Grace Larson, who enters her senior season with 662 kills and 742 digs in her career. The team also returns three other starters in head coach Heather Noll's seventh year at the helm of the program.
Lake Forest will officially open the 2018 season by taking on four different opponents in the Forester Invitational August 31 and September 1. The team will begin conference play at Knox College on September 29 and will close out its league schedule on October 26. The top four teams in the conference will qualify for the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 2-3.
Lake Forest is looking to reach the conference tournament for the first time since 2014. The Foresters' last title came in 2003.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Cornell College (8) | 80 |
| 2 | St. Norbert College (2) | 73 |
| 3 | Grinnell College | 59 |
| 4 | Lawrence University | 51 |
| 5 | Illinois College | 50 |
| 6 | Ripon College | 49 |
| 7 | Lake Forest College | 37 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 19 |
| 9 | Knox College | 19 |
| 10 | Monmouth College | 13 |