Sophomore forward Ernad Dzananovic (Loves Park, IL) and junior goalkeeper Ian Pickett (Mokena, IL) helped Saint Xavier University sweep the inaugural set of Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the week awards in men's soccer when the pair was named the offensive and defensive players of the week for the seven-day period ending August 24.

Dzananovic tallied the Cougars' lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) on August 23, while Pickett stopped five shots on goal.

Olivet Nazarene University freshman libero DeeAnn Garvin (Bloomington, Ind.) made her initial impression a solid one as she was named the first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week of the new season for her performance during the week ending August 24.

In four matches at the South Padre Island Volleyball Challenge in Brownsville, Texas, Garvin averaged 4.71 digs per game and boasted ten or more digs in three of the four matches. Her high mark for the week was her 25 digs in a five-set loss to Briar Cliff University (Iowa) on August 22.

After a year in which the top four Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer teams each won the same number of league matches - six - look for 2008 to be much of the same as evidenced by this year's preseason vote by the league's coaches.

While four-time defending champion Judson University garnered the most votes (80 total), including eight of 10 first-place votes, the next three spots are separated by just six votes. Saint Xavier University, despite not receiving any first-place votes, edged out Olivet Nazarene University and Illinois Institute of Technology for the No. 2 spot with its 65 votes.

Despite finishing second behind Saint Xavier University both in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings and in the championship game of the NAIA Region VII Tournament, Trinity Christian College has been tabbed as the CCAC favorite in women's soccer for 2008 following a vote of all 10 league head coaches.

The Trolls, who finished the 2007 campaign ranked No. 22 in the country, earned eight of the 10 first-place votes in the poll with Saint Xavier picking up the other two. In all voting, Trinity Christian gathered 80 votes with Saint Xavier collecting 68.

Olivet Nazarene University, a winner of six of the last eight regular-season volleyball championships in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, has been selected to return to the top of the league standings in 2008 by a preseason vote of the conference's 11 coaches after placing third one year ago.

The Tigers fell one victory short of gaining at least a tie for the conference title for the third year in a row last fall, going 7-2, while Saint Xavier University and University of St. Francis shared the crown with identical 8-1 marks.