MOUNT VERNON – Cornell landed five players on the All-Midwest Conference Volleyball Teams, headlined by the 2026 MWC Player of the Year in Ally Olmstead.
 
Olmstead, a junior middle blocker, was among three Rams named to the All-MWC First Team. She is joined on the league's top unit by senior libero Kensie Staats and sophomore middle blocker/right-side hitter Selia Stein.
 
Cornell fielded a pair of second team selections in senior setter Nia Howard and sophomore outside hitter Ashlin Nottestad.
 
Olmstead, a three-time all-MWC pick, becomes the 10th Ram to earn MWC Player of the Year honors since 2012. She helped guide Cornell to its 14th consecutive MWC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in this weekend's MWC Tournament, held in Mount Vernon. 
 
The 6-foot-2 Olmstead leads the Rams in points (312.5), blocks (97) and kills per set (2.77). The Alburnett, Iowa, native is the MWC leader in blocks per set (1.10), while standing third in hitting percentage (.291), fifth in points (3.55 pps) and sixth in kills. Olmstead was named MWC Performer of the Week three times this fall.     
 
Stein garnered first team accolades for the second year in a row. She owns a team-best .305 attack percentage, which ranks second in the conference. Stein is fourth in the MWC with 0.92 blocks per set.
 
Staats has enjoyed a breakout senior season in which she's accumulated 388 digs (4.41 dps), second-most in the MWC. The four-time MWC Performer of the Week is only 16 digs shy of 1,000 for her career. Staats also heads the team with 45 service aces.
 
Howard earned all-conference honors for the second straight season. She has totaled 401 assists (4.72 aps) and 34 aces. Howard stands No. 3 on Cornell's career chart with 208 aces.
 
Nottestad showed her versatility with 237 kills, 210 digs (2.39 dps), 34 aces and 23 blocks. She ranks in the MWC's Top 15 in points (284), kills (2.69 kps) and hitting percentage (.218).
 
Coach Jeff Meeker's Rams (15-9) completed their sixth consecutive undefeated MWC regular season, going 9-0 in league play. They'll host No. 4 seed Illinois College in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament at 7 p.m. Friday.