Jennifer Saylor Named MWC Coach of the Year, Three Foresters All-MWC
The Midwest Conference released its end-of-season awards for volleyball on Wednesday and Lake Forest College was well-represented. Jennifer Saylor was voted the MWC Coach of the Year, Cori Cooper and Tia Rupnik were First Team All-MWC selections, and Molly McCloskey was named to the Second Team.
Saylor led the team to a 15-14 overall record and a 6-3 mark and third-place finish in league play. The Foresters defeated Monmouth College in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament before falling to league champion and host St. Norbert College in the final. It was the program's highest victory total in six years and first appearance in the tournament final since 2004.
Cooper, a junior outside hitter, led the MWC with 3.91 kills per set and finished among the league leaders in hitting percentage and aces per set. Her 395 kills and 30 aces both ranked second on the team and she was also fourth on the squad with 263 digs and fifth with 26 blocks. She became the seventh player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills and just the third to accomplish the feat as a junior.
Rupnik, a junior libero, finished fourth in the MWC with .32 aces per set and fifth with 4.92 digs per set. She led the Foresters with 507 digs and 33 aces on the year and her 1,076 career digs after just two seasons on the team rank eighth in program history.
McCloskey, a junior outside hitter, was second in the MWC to Cooper with 3.86 kills per set and she was also 10th in the league in hitting percentage. Her team-high 401 kills on the year are the fifth-highest total in program history and she also ranked second on the squad with 322 digs and fourth with 28 blocks and 21 aces.
Rupnik was also a First Team All-MWC selection last season and Cooper earned Second Team All-MWC honors following both of her first two years at the College. Lake Forest has now had at least two all-conference honorees for 17 consecutive seasons.
