NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Carthage was predicted to win the 2021 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women's volleyball title based upon the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Tuesday.
The Firebirds won the poll with 60 points and five first place votes. The program won its 12th CCIW regular season title and 13th CCIW Tournament title in the fall of 2019. Recently, Carthage won the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Tournament in the spring of 2021.
Millikin placed second in the poll with 57 points and three first place votes. The Big Blue tied for second in the CCIW standings two seasons ago and was the runner up at the AVCA National Tournament. Millikin is a seven-time CCIW champion including back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
Illinois Wesleyan was third with 46 points following a tie for second in the CCIW standings in 2019 and a 3-2 record at the AVCA Tournament this past spring. The Titans' most recent conference title came in 2018.
Elmhurst placed fourth with 40 points, followed by North Central in fifth with 39 points, and Wheaton in sixth with 28 points and one first place vote.
Augustana (26 points), North Park (16 points) and Carroll (12 points) rounded out the poll.
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 2021 CCIW women's volleyball season begins Wednesday, September 1 and the conference schedule can be found
here.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in the standings will compete in the
2021 CCIW Women's Volleyball Tournament. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
2021 CCIW Preseason Women's Volleyball Poll
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Carthage |
60 (5) |
| 2 |
Millikin |
57 (3) |
| 3 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
46 |
| 4 |
Elmhurst |
40 |
| 5 |
North Central |
39 |
| 6 |
Wheaton |
28 (1) |
| 7 |
Augustana |
26 |
| 8 |
North Park |
16 |
| 9 |
Carroll |
12 |
2019 CCIW Women's Volleyball Standings
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Carthage |
8-0 |
31-4 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
6-2 |
9-20 |
| Millikin |
6-2 |
22-13 |
| Elmhurst |
4-4 |
10-22 |
| Augustana |
4-4 |
13-19 |
| Wheaton |
3-5 |
17-13 |
| Carroll |
3-5 |
14-15 |
| North Park |
2-6 |
12-17 |
| North Central |
0-8 |
5-24 |
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).