The Midwest Conference announced its end-of-season awards for volleyball Friday night between the two semifinal matches at the MWC Tournament. Lake Forest had several individuals recognized among the league's best.
Senior middle blocker Madison Stevens and junior outside hitter Mary Gegen were First Team All-MWC selections after ranking third and sixth in the league, respectively, in kills per set during conference contests. Stevens racked up 90 kills in 28 sets while Gegen had 91 in 31. Stevens also ranked fourth in the MWC with a .299 hitting percentage and sixth with 3.5 points per set. Gegen recorded double-doubles in five of eight league matches and finished eighth with 3.35 points per set.
Stevens and Gegen are the first Foresters to earn First Team All-MWC honors since 2018 and the last time Lake Forest had multiple players earn that status was 2012.
Senior Izzi Visnjevac was named Second Team All-MWC after ranking fifth in the conference with 4.48 digs per set. She was also 15th with a dozen aces in 31 sets. Visnjevac recently moved into sixth place in program history in career digs and 10th in aces.
In addition to the all-conference teams, the MWC Coaching Staff of the Year was also announced on Friday and the winners were Lake Forest Head Coach Katie Rueffer and Assistants Kevin Glabowicz and Cassidy Shaul. Entering their first MWC Tournament since 2014 at 15-12 overall, the Foresters had already won six more contests than a year ago. Meanwhile their 7-1 mark in league play was a three-match improvement.
Friday's recognition ceremony also included the presentation of the MWC Elite 20 Award, which goes to the player at the four-team conference tournament with the highest cumulative grade point average. Gegen, an environmental studies major, is this year's recipient and the first Forester volleyball player to earn the award since it was instituted in 2015.
The ceremony followed Lake Forest's four-set victory over Grinnell, which sent the Foresters to their first MWC Tournament final since 2011.
