Pictured: Illinois Wesleyan senior outside hitter and three-time AVCA All-American Tyler Brown led the Titans with 424 kills (3.62 per set) last season.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to win the 2018 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) volleyball title according to the results of the conference's preseason coaches' poll announced Tuesday.
The Titans (23-8, 6-2) won the poll with 61 points and five first place votes following last year's second place tie with Carthage in the CCIW standings. Illinois Wesleyan qualified for the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship for the second time in three years last season as the Titans advanced to the regional semifinal round. This is the second time in three years that Illinois Wesleyan has placed first in the preseason poll, having also finished first in the 2016 voting.
The Lady Reds (27-9, 6-2) were second in the poll with 60 points and four first place votes following their third NCAA appearance in four years. Last season, Carthage advanced to the regional final for the seventh time in program history and third time in the last four years. The Lady Reds earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason with their 10th CCIW Tournament title in program history.
Defending CCIW regular season champion Millikin (29-8. 8-0) placed third with 47 points. The Big Blue won their third-straight regular season title (second-straight outright title) and seventh overall title last season, followed by their second-straight NCAA postseason appearance. Millikin advanced to the regional semifinal last season, joining Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage in helping the CCIW go 3-0 in the first round.
Elmhurst (10-19, 5-3) was fourth with 44 points, while Augustana (14-15, 3-5) was fifth with 32 points, followed by North Central (12-7, 3-5) in sixth (29 points) and North Park (16-14, 3-5) in seventh (24 points). Carroll (11-20, 1-7) (15 points) and Wheaton (4-21, 1-7) (12 points) rounded out the poll.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The 2018 CCIW volleyball season begins Friday, August 31 and the complete conference schedule can be found
here.
Note: beginning in 2018, the top six teams from the regular season standings will qualify for the CCIW Volleyball Tournament. Previously, only the top four teams qualified for the conference tournament.
| 2018 Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
61 (5) |
| 2 |
Carthage |
60 (4) |
| 3 |
Millikin |
47 |
| 4 |
Elmhurst |
44 |
| 5 |
Augustana |
32 |
| 6 |
North Central |
29 |
| 7 |
North Park |
24 |
| 8 |
Carroll |
15 |
| 9 |
Wheaton |
12 |
| 2017 CCIW Volleyball Standings |
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Millikin |
8-0 |
29-8 |
| Carthage |
6-2 |
27-9 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
6-2 |
23-8 |
| Elmhurst |
5-3 |
10-19 |
| North Central |
3-5 |
12-7 |
| North Park |
3-5 |
16-14 |
| Augustana |
3-5 |
14-15 |
| Wheaton |
1-7 |
4-21 |
| Carroll |
1-7 |
11-20 |
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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 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.