NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s Cara Howell and Elmhurst’s Mary Lawrence were named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Volleyball Players of the Week on Tuesday.
 
Howell, a junior outside hitter from Lemont, Illinois and Lemont Township High School (Marketing & Psychology major), averaged 3.40 kills and hit .325 for the 2-1 Cardinals last week. On Tuesday, she finished with 14 kills, 11 digs and two service aces against Illinois Wesleyan. On Saturday, Howell totaled 13 kills with just one error, hit .387 and added seven digs and two service aces in a sweep of Ripon. She ended the day with seven kills (one error), eight digs and one service ace in a sweep of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Howell moved into 10th place on the Cardinals’ all-time kills list with 748 for her career.    
 
Lawrence, a junior middle hitter from Bloomington, Illinois and Bloomington High School (Pre-Nursing major), helped guide the Bluejays to a perfect 4-0 record last week with a strong defensive presence in the middle. She averaged 2.27 kills and a team-best 1.27 blocks per set. On Wednesday, she totaled seven kills, six digs, four aces and a team-best three blocks in a four-set win over Carroll. On Friday, she had 13 kills, hit .310 and registered a match-high eight blocks in a five-set win over 11th-ranked UW-Stevens Point. On Saturday, she totaled four kills and five blocks in a sweep of UW-Stout and added seven kills and three blocks in a sweep of UW-Eau Claire, helping Elmhurst head coach Julie Hall reach 600 career victories.
 
2016 CCIW Volleyball Players of the Week
 
Offense
Cara Howell – North Central (9/27/16)
Melissa Nava – Elmhurst (9/20/16)
Tyler Brown – Illinois Wesleyan (9/13/16)
Erin Syverson – Millikin (9/6/16)
 
Defense
Mary Lawrence – Elmhurst (9/27/16)
Amy Schryver – Elmhurst (9/20/16)
Alexa Cornish – Illinois Wesleyan (9/13/16)
Hannah Nimrick – Elmhurst (9/6/16)
 
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2015-16 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,600 academic all-conference recipients, 14 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 36 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and over 100 all-Americans.