The Midwest Conference released its 2021 Volleyball Coaches Poll on Monday and Lake Forest College was listed fourth 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 40 points and garnered all but one of the first place votes. The Rams were followed by Grinnell College (34), Illinois College (30), and Lake Forest, whose 28 points were one more than fifth-place Monmouth College's tally.
The new-look Foresters return just five players from a team that won four of six matches in an abbreviated season last spring. The list includes junior Izzi Vinjevac and sophomore Mary Gegen, who led the squad with 99 digs and 70 kills, respectively.
Lake Forest Head Coach Katie Rueffer's third year with the program will begin with four matches at this weekend's Forester Invitational. After 16 matches in September, the team will begin conference play at Ripon College on October 1 and will close out its league schedule on October 30. The top four teams in the conference will qualify for the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 5-6.
Based on the preseason coaches poll, Lake Forest is predicted 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 (6) | 40 |
| 2 | Grinnell College (1) | 34 |
| 3 | Illinois College | 30 |
| 4 | Lake Forest College | 28 |
| 5 | Monmouth College | 27 |
| 6 | Ripon College | 21 |
| 7 | Knox College | 19 |
| 8 | Lawrence University | 11 |
| 9 | Beloit College | 6 |
