The Midwest Conference released its 2026 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday and Lake Forest College was eighth in the rankings.

Voting is done by the MWC head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

Cornell College was atop the poll with 79 points and garnered seven first-place votes. Lawrence University received the other three top selections and was second with 75 points. With 59, Grinnell College was third and the Pioneers were followed closely by Monmouth College and Illinois College, who tied for fourth at 54. The Foresters' 32 points were just four shy of Ripon College's total and seven away from sixth-place Luther College.   

The 2025 Foresters finished seventh in the MWC standings with a 2-6 record in league play. The team returns its leaders in each of the main statistical categories in Rio Dirksen (kills, blocks), Lilly Robinson (assists, aces), and Alisa Kevric (digs).

Lake Forest's third season with Melanie Hughes as head coach will start with a pair of matches in Arizona next weekend. The team will play its first home match against Concordia University Chicago on September 18 and the Forester Invitational will be played September 18-19. Beloit College will be the Foresters' first conference opponent on Octob 6 and the league schedule will conclude on the final day of the month. The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the MWC Tournament, which will begin on November 10.