INDIANAPOLIS - After winning three straight league tournament titles, the Hillsdale Chargers are predicted to finish first again this year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that was released Tuesday afternoon.
Hillsdale’s program, led by head coach Chris Gravel, received all 11 possible first-place votes with schools unable to vote for themselves and totaled 121 points, as voted on by the league’s coaches. Findlay received the other first-place vote.
The Chargers are coming off a 28-4 season, where they advanced to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional Final. Hillsdale has not lost a conference match since the 2017-18 season as a member institution, with a 30-win streak in the Great Midwest.
Hillsdale returns Great Midwest Player of the Year and Great Midwest Female Athlete of the Year, Allyssa Van Wienen, along with all-conference selections in setter Lindsay Mertz, outside hitter Karoline Shelton and outside Maggie DePorre.
Van Wienen led the league in hitting percentage and blocks last season and easily ranked among Division II’s best as a consensus AVCA and D2CCA All-American performer.
Tiffin received 102 points to finish second in the preseason ranking. The Dragons finished with a record of 19-13 (10-2) last season. Head coach Shauna Hurles’ program advanced to the Great Midwest Tournament Championship matchup, where they stole a set from the Chargers on their home floor before eventually falling 3-1.
The Dragons lose standout middle hitter, Jenna Huffman, to graduation but return an experienced roster including setter Loryn Huffman and defensive specialist Sam Fallis. Huffman ranked second in the conference in assists and Fallis ranked second among all players digs last season.
Walsh collected the third-most points in the preseason poll (100 points), as head coach Jayme Plummer enters his second season at the helm of the program. The Cavaliers finished the 2019 season with a record of 18-10 (9-3) and reached the Great Midwest Semifinals.
The Cavaliers return three all-conference selections in outside hitter Hallie Schroeder, middle blocker Amber King and setter Olivia Kearns. Kearns ranked third in the league in assists last season.
Cedarville and Findlay round out the top five, receiving 94 and 79 points, respectively. Both the Yellow Jackets and Oilers’ programs qualified for last year’s Great Midwest Championship tournament.
Cedarville is led by the talented duo of outside hitter Liene Miller and middle blocker Lauren Willow, both first team all-conference selections last season. Miller ranked second in kills and third in both service aces and points among league competitors, while Willow was second in blocks and third in hitting percentage.
Trevecca Nazarene, Kentucky Wesleyan and Malone, will be vying for playoff spots if the preseason rankings hold true, coming in sixth, seventh and eighth in the preseason poll.
Ursuline, Ohio Dominican and Ohio Valley make up the final three spots, as twelve teams will compete for the Great Midwest Championship title this season. New coaches are roaming the sidelines for 2021 with Amy Bambenek at ODU and Will White taking over at OVU as they look to mold young programs into contenders.
The conference is also looking forward to the addition of Ashland University for the fall 2021 season. The Eagles are coached by a familiar face with Kevin Foeman leading the program. Foeman was previously the head coach at Lake Erie as the Storm made their initial transition into the Great Midwest
The 2020-21 schedule will feature a single round-robin format, with the top eight seeds qualifying for the conference tournament.
League play will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and the conference tournament will be held March 9; 12-13. As always, match start times and dates are subject to change throughout the season. Spectator policies due to COVID-19 are determined by the institutions while also providing streaming of select contests on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
Great Midwest Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Hillsdale (11 first-place votes) |
121 |
| 2. Tiffin |
102 |
| 3. Walsh |
100 |
| 4. Cedarville |
94 |
| 5. Findlay (1 first-place vote) |
79 |
| 6. Trevecca Nazarene |
67 |
| 7. Kentucky Wesleyan |
65 |
| 8. Malone |
59 |
| 9. Lake Erie |
36 |
| 10. Ursuline |
29 |
| 11. Ohio Dominican |
27 |
| 12. Ohio Valley |
13 |