NAPERVILLE — Three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s volleyball student-athletes were recognized with weekly honors on Monday afternoon. 
 
Carthage junior Ben Heise received Hitter of the Week, Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Ethan Kuziela was named Setter of the Week and Augustana freshman Colin Alvers earned Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week.
 
Hitter: Ben Heise, Carthage
Heise was recognized after helping No. 3 Carthage go 2-0 with straight-set wins over North Park and No. 10 Loras. He totaled 16 kills while hitting .370 for the week and added four service aces. His top match came against nationally ranked Loras, where he recorded 13 kills and two aces, including back-to-back kills in the final set that helped close out the sweep.
 
Setter: Ethan Kuziela, Illinois Wesleyan
Kuziela earned Setter of the Week honors after directing an Illinois Wesleyan offense that reached two program benchmarks. He helped the Titans secure their first win over North Central in program history and record the program’s 13th single-season victory. Against North Central, Kuziela posted his fourth triple-double of the season and set career highs with 20 kills, 27 assists, 12 digs and five blocks. 
 
Across two matches, he averaged 6.44 assists and 3.78 kills per set while maintaining a .352 attack percentage.
 
Defensive: Colin Alvers, Augustana
Alvers was selected as Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week after totaling 38 digs (3.45 per set) and 10 assists during Augustana’s 2-1 week against St. Ambrose, Illinois Wesleyan and North Park. He produced 16 digs and five assists in a four-set win over St. Ambrose and added 11 digs in a sweep of North Park.

2026 CCIW Men's Volleyball Student-Athletes of the Week
Hitter
March 2: Ben Heise, Carthage
Feb. 24: Ben Heise, Carthage
Feb. 16: Aydin Provost, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 9: Ryan Bartz, Carthage
Feb. 2: Aydin Provost, Illinois Wesleyan
Jan. 26: Ryan Bartz, Carthage
Jan. 19: Aydin Provost, Illinois Wesleyan

Setter
March 2: Ethan Kuziela, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 24: Colin Schaefer, Augustana
Feb. 16: Ethan Kuziela, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 9: Ethan Kuziela, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 2: Evan Dziadkowiec, Loras
Jan. 26: Evan Dziadkowiec, Loras
Jan. 19: Ethan Kuziela, Illinois Wesleyan

Defensive
March 2: Colin Alvers, Augustana
Feb. 24: Owen Hendricks, Carthage
Feb. 16: Colin Alvers, Augustana
Feb. 9: Chris Mactal, North Central
Feb. 2: Jonathan Brown, North Central
Jan. 26: Chris Mactal, North Central
Jan. 19: Roman Rothermel, Loras