After being picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in each of the last four seasons, the Lewis University women’s volleyball team has been tabbed as the prohibitive favorites to win the 2016 East Division Championship in the annual GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll announced on Tuesday (August 23). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Lewis, who went 31-5 on its way to the 2015 GLVC Championship, returns junior All-America middle hitter Aly Schneider (Granger, Ind./Penn) and 2015 GLVC Libero of the Year, Nicole Yuede (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) to the line-up. The Flyers received 12 first place votes and finished with 115 points, while McKendree was picked to finish second with 102 points. Rockhurst was a unanimous selection in the GLVC West Division with 15 first place votes and 120 points.
Schneider was selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Third Team after registering 356 kills and 136 blocks (22 solo). Yuede, who also earned Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Region and GLVC Second Team honors, set the single-season digs record in 2015 with 690.
“Being picked first is something we can take pride in, but it will also put a target on our backs,” Lewis head women’s volleyball coach Lorelle Smith said. “We will have to work exceptionally hard to show that we are deserving of this honor.”
Lewis opens the 2016 season on September 1st, as the Flyers take on both Michigan Tech (3:30 PM) and Palm Beach Atlantic (7:30 PM).