NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men's volleyball coaches picked Carthage to win the 2022 CCIW title based upon the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Friday.
Carthage won the poll with 36 points and six first place votes following a 2021 season that saw the Firebirds post an unblemished record of 23-0 and capture Carthage's first-ever team National Championship in a five-set thriller over Benedictine. North Central placed second in the poll with 29 points, followed by Loras in third with 28 points and one first place vote. Carthage won last year's CCIW title with Loras, North Central, and Augustana finishing in a three-way tie in second place.
North Park placed fourth with 19 points, followed by Augustana in fifth with 18 points.
Illinois Wesleyan was sixth with 11 points, while Millikin rounded out the poll with six points.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head men's volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the six other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (six points for first, five for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
After finishing the season atop the final AVCA Top 15 poll, Carthage returns its trio of CCIW award winners from last year including CCIW Defensive Player of the Year Zach Bulthuis, CCIW Offensive Player of the Year Matt Slivinski, and CCIW Newcomer of the Year Gene McNulty. Carthage opens the 2022 CCIW Men's Volleyball slate of action on January 10 when the Firebirds host Cardinals Stritch.
2022 CCIW Preseason Men's Volleyball Poll
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Carthage |
36 (6) |
| 2 |
North Central |
29 |
| 3 |
Loras |
28 (1) |
| 4 |
North Park |
19 |
| 5 |
Augustana |
18 |
| 6 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
11 |
| 7 |
Millikin |
6 |
2021 CCIW Men's Volleyball Standings
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Carthage |
12-0 |
23-0 |
| Loras |
8-4 |
9-5 |
| North Central |
8-4 |
11-4 |
| Augustana |
8-4 |
9-7 |
| North Park |
4-8 |
8-10 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
2-10 |
3-14 |
| Millikin |
0-12 |
0-13 |
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.-