NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Carthage was predicted to win the 2019 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women's volleyball title following the announcement of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll on Tuesday.
The Lady Reds won the poll with 63 points and seven first place votes following the program's second-straight appearance in the NCAA postseason in 2018. Carthage placed second and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last season, the Lady Reds' 11th appearance since 2005.
Defending CCIW champion Illinois Wesleyan placed second in the preseason poll with 56 points and one first place vote. The Titans won both the conference's regular season and tournament titles in 2018 and advanced all the way to the NCAA's regional final. It was the program's second-straight NCAA appearance and third in the last four seasons.
Millikin placed third with 49 points and one first place vote following a fourth place finish in 2018. The Big Blue also advanced to the CCIW Tournament for the 10th-straight season.
Carroll was fourth with 39 points as the Pioneers finished third last season. They also qualified for the CCIW Volleyball Tournament for the first time since re-joining the conference in 2016.
Augustana was fifth with 35 points after the Vikings tied for fourth with Millikin last season. Augustana qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 2008.
Elmhurst placed sixth with 27 points after a seventh place finish last season, while North Park was seventh with 21 points as the Vikings finished sixth and advanced to the CCIW Tournament's semifinal round last season. It was the program's first appearance in the conference tournament since 2004.
North Central and Wheaton rounded out the poll with 17 points apiece.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head women's 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 2019 CCIW volleyball season begins Friday, August 30 and the complete conference schedule can be found
here.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in the standings will compete in the
2019 CCIW Women's Volleyball Tournament. The winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
| 2019 Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Carthage |
63 (7) |
| 2 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
56 (1) |
| 3 |
Millikin |
49 (1) |
| 4 |
Carroll |
39 |
| 5 |
Augustana |
35 |
| 6 |
Elmhurst |
27 |
| 7 |
North Park |
21 |
| T-8 |
North Central |
17 |
| T-8 |
Wheaton |
17 |
| 2018 CCIW Volleyball Standings |
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
8-0 |
27-6 |
| Carthage |
7-1 |
21-11 |
| Carroll |
6-2 |
19-10 |
| Millikin |
4-4 |
16-19 |
| Augustana |
4-4 |
16-14 |
| North Park |
3-5 |
17-14 |
| Elmhurst |
2-6 |
12-19 |
| Wheaton |
2-6 |
15-16 |
| North Central |
0-8 |
3-20 |
Follow the CCIW
|
CCIW Twitter |
CCIW Instagram |
CCIW Facebook |
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 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.