NAPERVILLE, Ill. - A perfect record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season was rewarded for the second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University as it took home six All-CCIW honorees, announced by the league office Tuesday morning, Nov. 10. The Titans collected three of the five specialty awards with junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) winning defensive player of the year and senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) collecting her second straight setter of the year award. Kim Nelson-Brown and her staff were named the coaching staff of the year.

The Titans were represented with four student-athletes on the first team and two on the second team. IWU's talent was well represented as every position group found a spot on the team. Along with Feeney and Lawton, junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) earned First Team All-CCIW honors. Senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) landed on the second team. Senior Paige Peterson (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) was the Green and White's recipient of the CCIW RESPECT Award.

For the third straight season, Kim Nelson-Brown, with the help of associate head coach Tyler White, and assistant coaches Tony Gliwa, Maggie Nelson, Ryan Raycraft and Nicole Bing Eichelberger were named the CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff won the CCIW Regular Season for the third consecutive year and are 24-0 in conference games over the stretch. Over her 31 seasons at the helm, Nelson-Brown has taken home six conference coaching honors after previously reeling it in in 2003, 2018, 2021, 2024, and 2025. 

Lawton becomes the second Titan all-time to win CCIW Defensive Player of the Year and first since Faith Washko did so in 2023. The Elmhurst, Ill. native was second in the CCIW in digs per set with 4.85 and digs with 131. Her reception was one of the best in the conference at .956 with just five errors in 113 tries. Navigating the Green and White attack out of system, Lawton dished out 35 assists over 27 sets. She smacked down three service aces. The junior was a big part of holding oppositions to hit just .096 against Illinois Wesleyan over the eight-game league slate. Lawton rewrote the CCIW Defensive Player of the Week record books, taking the honor six times in a season, the most all-time on that side of the ball. She also added a national honor, winning American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week, Oct. 20.

Feeney becomes the first CCIW Setter of the Year winner to claim in it consecutive years since the conference began doling out the honor in 2023. It is her third straight all-conference award and second straight on the first team. The senior is the horsepower to the program's 6-2 system, dishing out assists for the number-two ranked kills per set team in the country. In conference play, Feeney handed out 6.04 assists per set with 163 total. She helped the Titans hit .223 in league play and guided them to lead the conference in assists per set at 12.96. Feeney slotted sixth in the league with 163 assists in just 27 sets. She tallied 2.04 digs per set along with four aces in league play. She added CCIW Setter of the Week to her resume for the fourth time in her career, Oct. 26.

Bardouniotis, a strong candidate for CCIW Offensive Player of the Week, secured her second First Team All-CCIW accolade in as many years, leading IWU in kills per set in the conference season with 3.3. Her kills per set number was good for third in the league as she tallied 89 of them. She also sat in third in service aces with 18, three shy of the top spot, and points per set at 4.11. On the defensive side of the ball, she ranked 10th in the CCIW in digs per set at 3.30 and led IWU in receiving percentage at .957. In eight conference matches, Bardouniotis recorded four double-doubles as a six-rotation threat.

Rounding out the first team for the Green and White, Shannon put together a career year, leading the Titans in hitting percentage at .307. The mark sat seventh in the conference as she hammered 63 kills in the 27 sets. At the net, Shannon collected 10 blocks, nine assists and one solo, on her way to her first career All-CCIW selection. As a right side, Shannon tallied 20 digs and strung together four matches of attack percentages north of .350. She tallied a career-high of 14 kills at a .542 clip in the match against Carthage.

Palmer snagged All-CCIW honors for the second straight season, catching a spot on the second team this season, after a first team selection last year. Palmer finished the eight-game slate with 1.93 kills per set with 52 kills. Her point total climbed to 61.5 for the conference schedule as she hit .289 en route to 1.93 kills per set. Managing the net well, Palmer was second on the squad in vetoes with 16, 13 block assists and three solos. The senior helped an IWU attack rank second in kills with 367 while holding opponents to 254, the best in the CCIW.

Garnering her first career all-conference accolade, Whitaker landed on the second team with a strong 2.15 kills per set. She hit .255 with 58 kills and tallied 64 points with 2.37 points per set. Out of system, the lefty was versatile, dishing out five assists and adding 24 digs over the eight-match span. Whitaker helped the offense lead the conference in kills per set at 13.59. Defensively, she stood strong at the net with 10 blocks, eight block assists and two solos. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to the Shirk Center for a CCIW Tournament semifinal match Thursday, Nov. 12. The top-seeded Titans face the winner between No. 4 Millikin University and No. 5 Carthage College with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.

CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Katie Hurta, Elmhurst

CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Alysa Lawton, Illinois Wesleyan

CCIW Setter of the Year
Sophia Feeney, Illinois Wesleyan

CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year
Elayna Ammerman, Elmhurst

CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year
Illinois Wesleyan

First Team
Carly Hicklin, Carroll
Audrey Rosenbaum, Carroll
Kristina Manojlovic, Carthage
Hailey Wierzgac, Carthage
Katie Hurta, Elmhurst
Freddie Temple, Elmhurst
Alex Bardouniotis, Illinois Wesleyan
Sophia Feeney, Illinois Wesleyan
Alysa Lawton, Illinois Wesleyan 
Cailin Shannon, Illinois Wesleyan
Nikkel Johnson, Millikin

Second Team
Samantha Miserendino, Carroll
Lexi Proctor, Carroll
Ava Detweiler, Carthage
Elayna Ammerman, Elmhurst
Eleanor Palmer, Illinois Wesleyan
Carly Whitaker, Illinois Wesleyan
Kyra Carothers, Millikin
Elle Richards, Millikin
Sarah Harvey, North Central
Meg Rothermel, North Park
Mary Patrick, Wheaton

CCIW RESPECT Award Recipients
Lanah Queckboerner, Augustana
Clara Justice, Carroll
Ava McTeague, Carthage
Aubrey LeCleir, Elmhurst
Paige Peterson, Illinois Wesleyan
Alysa Frederking, Millikin
Sarah Egan, North Central
Grace Rapacz, North Park
Sydney Overweg, Wheaton