NAPERVILLE — Illinois Wesleyan highlighted the 2025 All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Volleyball Team announced Monday, earning three of the league’s top honors and the CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year award. 
 
Senior Taylor French was selected as the CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year, while teammate Sophia Feeney claimed Setter of the Year honors and Jenna Damon of Carthage was recognized as the Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year. Elmhurst’s Paige Belfield rounded out the major award winners as the First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year.
 
French is now a three-time CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year and is the first player in league history to win a postseason specialty award three years in a row. She powered the Titans to the regular-season CCIW title after leading the league in nearly every attacking category. In CCIW play, French produced 98 kills and 20 service aces, averaging 3.77 kills per set and 4.67 points per set — both tops among qualified hitters.
 
Damon anchored the Firebirds’ back row to the tune of 135 digs in conference play, averaging 4.35 per set to lead all CCIW defenders. Her 26 digs against IWU on Oct. 8 were tied for most by a player during the league slate in 2025, and her 21 digs against Augustana on Sept. 19 were most a three-set CCIW match this season. The senior from Durand, Ill. is Carthage’s first postseason specialty award winner since Megan Behrendt was named Student-Athlete of the Year in 2019.
 
Feeney averaged 5.73 assists per set in league matches, totaling 149 assists while directing a balanced Titan attack. She had 28 assists in the Titans’ 6-2 offense on Oct. 8 against Carthage, her highest total in a league match in 2025. The junior from Bloomington, Ill. is the first Titan to receive the honor from the league.
 
Belfield, an outside hitter, registered 80 kills and 11 service aces in conference play, averaging 2.67 kills per set to rank among the league’s most productive first-year hitters. Belfield joined IWU’s French as one of only four CCIW players to have six service aces in a league match this season. The Woodbury, Minn. native is the first EU player to earn the CCIW’s First-Year honor since Val Thomas in 2018. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan, under the direction of 30th-season head coach Kim Nelson-Brown, was voted CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year. The Titans, who have ranked as high as fourth nationally in the AVCA poll this season, posted a perfect 8-0 mark in CCIW action to win the league title for the second year in a row and third time since 2021.
 
IWU ranked first in points per set (18.27), hitting percentage (.278), kills per set (14.00), assists per set (12.54), service aces per set (2.85) and digs per set (15.81) — the only team to top the conference in both offensive and defensive metrics. The Titans also paced the league in opponent efficiency, holding CCIW opponents to a .102 hitting percentage and just 8.54 kills per set, both best marks in the conference.
 
CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Taylor French, Illinois Wesleyan
 
CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Jenna Damon, Carthage
 
CCIW Setter of the Year
Sophia Feeney, Illinois Wesleyan
 
CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year
Paige Belfield, Elmhurst
 
CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year
Illinois Wesleyan
 
First Team
Bronwyn Rowse, Carroll, So., OH, Denver, Colo., Denver East
Jenna Damon, Carthage, Sr., DS, Durand, Ill., Durand
Kristina Manojlovic, Carthage, Jr., OH/RS, Skokie, Ill., Niles West
Alex Bardounitois, Illinois Wesleyan, So., OH, St. Charles, Ill., St. Charles North
Kannyn Boyd, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., DS, Mount Pleasant, Mich., Mount Pleasant
Sophia Feeney, Illinois Wesleyan, Jr., S/DS, Bloomington, Ill., Normal Community
Taylor French, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., OH, Romeoville, Ill., Plainfield East
Eleanor Palmer, Illinois Wesleyan, Jr., MH, Chicago, Ill., Depaul College Prep
Hannah Tellor, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., UTIL, Metamora, Ill., Metamora
Kyra Carothers, Millikin, Jr., MB, Quincy, Ill., Unity
Jordan Benford, Wheaton, Sr., OH/RS, Springdale, Ark., Har-ber
 
Second Team
Payton Depies, Carroll, Jr., S, Germantown, Wis., Germantown
Ava Dettwiler, Carthage, So., S/RS, La Crosse, Wis., La Crosse Logan
Paige Belfield, Elmhurst, Fr., OH, Woodbury, Minn., East Ridge
Lauren O'Brien, Illinois Wesleyan, Fr., S, Bloomington, Ill., Central Catholic
Delaney Higgins, Millikin, Sr., OH, Milan, Mich., Milan
Addison Oyer, Millikin, Sr., OH/RS, Ludlow, Ill., Paxton Buckley Loda
Lauren Benson, North Central, Jr., MB, Geneva, Ill., Geneva
Sarah Harvey, North Central, So., S, Bolingbrook, Ill., Bolingbrook
Carolina Aviles, North Park, Sr., DS, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Colegio Adianez
Meg Rothermel, North Park, Jr., MB, Cary, Ill., Cary-Grove
Ashton Major, Wheaton, Gr., MB/RS, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma Christian
 
CCIW RESPECT Award Recipients
Grace Gustafson, Augustana, Sr., RS/OH, Rock Island, Ill., Rock Island
Carly Hicklin, Carroll, So., OH, Hinton, Iowa, Hinton
Madilyn Danielson, Carthage, Sr., OH/DS, Geneva, Ill., Geneva
Gianna Ptaszek, Elmhurst, Sr., DS, Naperville, Ill., Neuqua Valley
Raegan Watts, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., DS, Forsyth, Ill., Maroa Forsyth
Charley Condill, Millikin, Jr., DS/OH, Arthur, Ill., Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond
Kylie Hanson, North Central, So., S/OPP, Algonquin, Ill., Dundee-Crown
Cassidy Mullens, North Park, Jr., S, Dana Point, Calif., Fullerton
Paris Griffin, Wheaton, Jr., RS/OH, San Jose, Calif., Valley Christian