INDIANAPOLIS – Lewis University women’s volleyball was voted to win the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular season crown in the preseason coaches’ poll, the league office announced Wednesday (Aug. 21). The preseason poll is selected by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
The Flyers received six first place votes and recorded 161 total vote points by the coaches. Lewis is coming off a 26-7 season and a 11-2 mark in the GLVC where it finished off with its 13th GLVC title in program history and third straight while making a trip to the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Lorelee Smith returns to the sidelines for her 18th season and owns a 487-120 record overall with a 243-31 mark in the GLVC. Smith has recorded five GLVC Coach of the Year Awards during her tenure at Lewis.
First Team All-GLVC honoree Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) and second-team Ally Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) return to lead the Flyers this season as well as a group of returners. Ray was also an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention recipient after leading the conference in blocks per set (1.16) and fifth in attack percentage (.347). Hickey ranked third in the GLVC in digs/set last season after recording 5.15 per set.
The Flyers ended the 2023 season ranked No. 15 in the last American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII Coaches’ Poll.
FULL POLL BELOW
| Rank | School | Points (1st-place votes) |
| 1. | Lewis | 161 (6) |
| 2. | Missouri-St. Louis | 154 (4) |
| 3. | Rockhurst | 148 (4) |
| 4. | Quincy | 131 |
| 5. | Indianapolis | 123 |
| 6. | Maryville | 106 |
| 7. | Missouri S&T | 86 |
| 8. | Upper Iowa | 81 |
| 9. | McKendree | 64 |
| 10. | Illinois Springfield | 62 |
| 11. | Southwest Baptist | 49 |
| 12. | Drury | 48 |
| 13. | William Jewell | 34 |
| 14. | Truman State | 27 |
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