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GRINNELL, Iowa – Since re-joining the Midwest Conference in 2012, the Cornell College volleyball team has won the conference in each of the past three years and are expected to make it four in a row based on the results of the 2015 MWC Coaches’ Poll.
The Rams earned the maximum number of first-place votes (10) to finish with a perfect score of 100 at the top of the rankings. St. Norbert College, under the direction of new head coach BJ Bryant, earned the final first-place tally and checked in with 87 points. Carroll University earned 78 points to finish third and Lake Forest College is expected to claim the final spot in the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament, finishing with 73 points.
Ripon College was selected fifth (71), with Lawrence University claiming sixth with 59. Illinois College is expected to finish seventh (43) and Monmouth College earned 36 points to come in eighth.
Grinnell College and Knox College tied for ninth with 26 points, with Beloit College completing the poll with 10 points.
Voting is done by the MWC's head coaches. Each coach votes for the 10 other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (10 points for first, nine for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
2015 Midwest Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll (First-place votes)
1. Cornell (10) 100
2. St. Norbert (1) 87
3. Carroll 78
4. Lake Forest 73
5. Ripon 71
6. Lawrence 59
7. Illinois College 43
8. Monmouth 36
9. Grinnell 26
9. Knox 26
11. Beloit 10