Millikin University and Illinois Wesleyan University have been ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division III preseason poll, released Monday. Millikin is placed at number 12 with 1,098 points, while Illinois Wesleyan holds the 19th spot with 628 points.
Last season, Millikin advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament and recorded 31 wins, including a 6-2 record in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play. The team was also picked second in this year’s CCIW coaches’ preseason poll.
Illinois Wesleyan enters the new season as the preseason favorite within the CCIW after sweeping both last year’s regular-season and tournament championships and finishing with 24 victories.
Juniata leads the national rankings after securing 79 out of 86 first-place votes. Other teams rounding out the top five include Wisconsin-Whitewater, Hope, Johns Hopkins, and Emory.
