NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Carthage was predicted to win its seventh-straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) volleyball title according to the CCIW's head volleyball coaches' preseason poll conducted Wednesday.

The Lady Reds won the poll with 49 points including seven first place votes. Carthage (33-6, 7-0 in 2009) won its eighth CCIW volleyball championship in 2009, finishing 7-0 and extending its CCIW record to 44-straight regular season conference victories. The Lady Reds have won the last five outright conference titles while sharing a title with Elmhurst in 2004 (Carthage also won titles in 1990 and 1993).

North Central (35-5, 6-1) was second in the voting with 42 points including one first place vote. Illinois Wesleyan (19-16, 5-2) placed third with 35 points, followed by Elmhurst (17-17, 4-3) with 33 points.

Millikin (19-20, 2-5) placed fifth with 22 points, followed by Wheaton (17-16, 2-5) with 20 points, Augustana (11-21, 2-5) with 16 points and North Park (9-19, 0-7) with seven points.

Voting in the preseason poll is done by the CCIW's head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own team.

2010 CCIW Preseason Volleyball Poll

Team	Points	First Place Votes
Carthage	49	7
North Central	42	1
Illinois Wesleyan	35
Elmhurst	33
Millikin	22
Wheaton	20
Augustana	16
North Park	7