INDIANAPOLIS – Back-to-back champion Hillsdale will be looking to make it three straight after topping the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that was released Tuesday.
 
The Chargers completed a perfect run through regular season with a 19-0 record in 2018, their second year as a league member. After losing back-to-back league matches in 2017 to start the conference schedule, Hillsdale has now reeled off an active streak of 34 consecutive victories, a conference record.
 
Hillsdale’s program, led by head coach Chris Gravel, received 10 first-place votes in the balloting. The Chargers received a total of 142 points by the league’s coaches.
 
Looking ahead to 2019, there is no East Division or West Division, and 13 teams will be looking to forge their way into the postseason. With Hillsdale on top going into the fall, there will be plenty of programs looking to take aim and bring down the preseason favorite.
 
HC opponents will be happy to see two-time conference player of the year Paige VanderWall and all-conference outside Kara Vyletel not on the other side of the net, but the Chargers still have returning talent stacked on the roster.
 
Allyssa Van Wienen and Hannah Gates are pair of 6-foot bookend middles, who have been instrumental in each of HC’s championship runs. Lindsey Mertz, a former Great Midwest Freshman of the Year, is on a career record-breaking pace as the setter (assists 12.21 per set) and 5-4 senior libero Taylor Wiese is one of the biggest players on the floor digging out almost 6 attack attempts per frame.
 
Findlay has emerged as Hillsdale’s biggest nemesis in recent history and the Oilers head into the 2019 season ranked second by the coaches. UF garnered three first-place votes for 135 points and like Hillsdale, has considerable star power (Hailee Olson, Amanda Winner, Kara Scherger) to replace) at three different positions.
 
Tiffin was one of the best in the stacked West Division and the Dragons embark their second year as a Great Midwest member picked third overall. Senior middle Jenna Huffman controls action efficiently and on paper, could easily be considered a front runner for player of the year candidacy.
 
Walsh was picked fourth after winning the East Division crown and the next few slots were filled by conference tournament qualifiers, including Lake Erie in fifth, Cedarville in sixth and Malone in seventh.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca Nazarene have postseason aspirations inside the top 10 while Ursuline, an East Division tourney qualifier in 2018, was picked at No. 10. Ohio Valley, Ohio Dominican and Alderson Broaddus, rounded out the preseason coaches poll, respectively.
 
The conference would love to send more than one program into the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional field. A great place for teams to enhance their chances still remains at the Midwest Region Crossover, set to be held at The Academy again in Indianapolis.
 
The crossover field includes in-region competition from the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as all three conference send a set number of allocated teams to be represented.
 
Three new coaches are breaking into the league, although Jayme Plummer is quite familiar with the conference landscape after moving from Ursuline to Walsh. Calaeb Campbell replaced Plummer at Ursuline and Emily Moore is now at the helm of Trevecca Nazarene following an 11-year tenure by Jayme Crowley.

Great Midwest Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
 

School	Points
1. Hillsdale (10 first-place votes)	142
2. Findlay (3 first-place votes)	135
3. Tiffin	116
4. Walsh	107
5. Lake Erie	98
6. Cedarville	94
7. Malone	83
8. Kentucky Wesleyan	65
9. Trevecca Nazarene	47
10. Ursuline	39
11. Ohio Valley	37
12. Ohio Dominican	33
13. Alderson Broaddus	18