The Midwest Conference released its 2022 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll on Monday and Lake Forest College was listed fifth in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the other eight schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
Cornell College was atop the poll with 62 points and garnered six of the nine first-place votes. The Rams were followed by Grinnell College who had 56 points and the other top votes. Illinois College was third with 48 points, Monmouth College fourth with 45, and Lake Forest fifth with 39.
The Foresters split their eight league matches and finished fifth in the standings in 2021. Six different players on the team ranked among the league's statitical leaders, including Second Team All-MWC honoree Mary Gegen. The current junior ranked second in the conference in blocks and fourth in kills during league play a year ago.
Lake Forest Head Coach Katie Rueffer's fourth year with the program will begin with three matches at this weekend's Forester Invitational. After 16 non-conference matches in September, the team will begin MWC play at Monmouth College on October 1 and will close out its league schedule against Grinnell on October 29. The top four teams in the conference will qualify for the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 4-5.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Cornell College (6) | 62 |
| 2 | Grinnell College (3) | 56 |
| 3 | Illinois College | 48 |
| 4 | Monmouth College | 45 |
| 5 | Lake Forest College | 39 |
| 6 | Knox College | 26 |
| 7 | Ripon College | 22 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 14 |
| 9 | Lawrence University | 12 |