The Illinois Wesleyan volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in the annual preseason coaches' poll released on August 5.

Illinois Wesleyan, who finished 18-17 overall and 5-2 in the CCIW in 2008, received 40 points and one first place vote to finish behind Carthage (48 points and six first place votes). The five-time defending champion Lady Reds (32-5, 7-0 in 2008) have won the outright CCIW title in each of the last four seasons after sharing the title with Elmhurst in 2004.

Augustana (23-12, 2-5) was third with 37 points and one first place vote. North Central (24-13, 5-2) was fourth with 31 points while Elmhurst (22-14, 3-4) was fifth with 28 points. Millikin (24-13, 4-3), Wheaton (17-16, 2-5) and North Park (19-12, 0-7) rounded out the poll with 19, 14 and seven points respectively.

Voting in the preseason poll is done by the head volleyball coaches in the CCIW. 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. Go here for complete CCIW release.

The Titans open their season on Friday, September 4 at the Elmhurst Invitational with matches against Chicago (4 p.m.) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (6 p.m.). Among the key returners for IWU are senior middle hitter Emily Hagen, first team all-CCIW and honorable mention All-American, and sophomore setter Stacy Hassinger, honorable mention all-conference.