NAPERVILLE – For the fifth time in the league’s six-year men’s volleyball history, Carthage is the top choice in the preseason poll submitted by College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) head coaches late last month.
2025 CCIW Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| 1. Carthage (4) |
24 |
| 2. Loras (2) |
21 |
| 3. Augustana |
16 |
| 4. North Central |
15 |
| 5. Illinois Wesleyan |
9 |
| 6. North Park |
5 |
The two-time national champion and three-time CCIW champion Firebirds earned four first-place votes for 24 points in the poll. The Firebirds shared the league title last season with a 9-1 mark in conference play.
Loras, which won a share of its first regular-season conference title and won the CCIW Tournament last April, was second in Tuesday’s announcement with two first-place votes and 21 points. The Duhawks qualified for their first NCAA Tournament last spring, advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Augustana collected the third spot in the preseason poll with 16 points. The Vikings finished third last season – their best-ever final mark in a full league schedule. North Central was one point behind AC, earning 15 points for fourth place. NCC, two years removed from advancing to the NCAA Tournament championship match, was a CCIW Tournament semifinalist last season.
Illinois Wesleyan was fifth with nine points, followed by North Park with five points.
Carthage and North Central will officially begin the 2025 CCIW campaign with non-league matches on Friday, Jan. 10. Conference play begins with a pair of matches Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Follow the CCIW
|
CCIW on Bluesky |
CCIW on X |
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, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).