Where are Illprepvb.com’s top girls recruits going? (updated 8/26)

Joliet Catholic's Emily Jones (Fredonia State, New York), Emmie Naal (North Central College) and Nico Meyer (Georgia Southern) with their coach Chris Scheibe. Illprepvb.com presents where many of the top high school girls players in Illinois will be heading to continue their volleyball careers. Class of 2018 Nicole Acton, 6-1, MB, Geneva/Club Fusion, Carthage College Temi Adekoya, 5-9, OH, Marian Catholic/Michio Chicago, University of Chicago Mica Allison, 6-1, S, (Champaign) St. Thomas More/Illini Elite Volleyball Club, Auburn ...

SPVB 18 Elite stuns Munciana Samurai twice, wins national AAU title

Author Alan Lewis once said, “If at first you don’t succeed, get a bigger hammer.” Sports Performance 18 Elite didn’t get a bigger hammer. It got a pile driver. After snapping Asics Munciana 18 Samurai’s 56-match winning streak in Round 3 of Gold pool play on Wednesday, the crew from Aurora beat the defending national AAU champions a second time 24 hours later, 25-23, 12-25, 15-11, to win the 18 Open division championship of the 45th AAU Boys and Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida. This after SPVB 1...

Where are Illprepvb.com’s top boys recruits going?

  What schools have some of the top recruits in Illinois committed to?   Class of 2018   J.T. Ardell, 6-10, MH, Glenbard West, Sports Performance, PepperdineErick Avila, 6-0, L/DS, Morton East, Ultimate VBC, Loras CollegeDanny Barlas, 6-1, OH, Andrew, Ultimate VBC, Loras CollegeMatthew Binkus, 6-4, MH, Plainfield East, Club 1, Milwaukee School of EngineeringMark Brooks, 6-3, OH, Marian Catholic, Ultimate VBC, CarthageTony Brooks, 5-11, OH, Belleville West, St. Louis High Performance, FontbonneJoe Claffy, 6-3,...

Illprepvb.com’s teams to watch in 2019

Peering into the Illprepvb.com crystal ball …Can Glenbard West return to the top of the Illinois high school boys volleyball world after seeing its streak of three consecutive state titles end in a semifinal loss to Neuqua Valley?Will junior-heavy Lincoln-Way West make another run through the southern portion of the bracket behind Ben Pluskota and David Flores?Can Barrington put together a fifth consecutive 30-win campaign?Or will another team emerge as the 2019 season progresses? A lot can happen between now and next March, but here is a look

Fusion 17 Red comes oh so close; Illini Elite 17 Cardinal takes 3rd in Orlando

The “Magnificent Seven” came up a few points shy of claiming a national championship in the 17 Premier division of the AAU Boys and Girls Junior National Championships Sunday in Orlando, Florida. Batavia-based Fusion 17 Red, nicknamed the “Magnificent Seven” by the club’s coaches, won its first 12 matches before falling to Palm Beach (Florida) Juniors 16 Elite 25-22, 20-25, 15-12 in the 17 Premier championship match. “It was a great match,” Fusion 17 Red coach Joe Davidson said of the final. “(Palm Beach) is really, really g...

‘Sterling’ performances help SPVB win two national AAU titles

Sports Performance Volleyball Club's 15 Elite and 15 C-Fed teams celebrate their national titles Wednesday in Orlando, Florida. Never say they don’t play “big-girl” volleyball in small-town Illinois. Twin sisters Brooklyn and Breelyn Borum from Sterling, Illinois, were named MVPs of their respective divisions while leading SPVB 15 Elite and SPVB 15 C-Fed to national titles Wednesday at the 45th AAU Girls' and Boys' Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida. Brooklyn Borum, a 6-foot outside hitter, was named th...

Catholic League stars best ESCC

The Chicago Catholic League all stars defeated the East Suburban Catholic Conference all stars 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 in a match played June 4 at Brother Rice. ...

Grygo heads Illprepvb.com all-state team

Where would Addison Trail have been without Jacob Grygo? The 6-foot-5 senior setter did it all for the Trail Blazers – setting hitting, digging, blocking, selling concessions, hawking programs in the stands. OK, maybe not the last two. But the 2018 Illprepvb.com Player of the Year defined the word “all-around volleyball player.” “This guy is undoubtedly the Most Valuable Player on any team,” Addison Trail coach Chad Grant said. “We really only won four matches comfortably and lost once badly, so all of our matches were competitive a...

Illprepvb.com 2018 Boys All-State Volleyball Team

Illprepvb.com 2018 Boys All-State Volleyball Team Team of the Year: Lincoln-Way East Coach of the Year: Kris Fiore, Lincoln-Way East Player of the Year: Jacob Grygo, Addison Trail First Team Jeremy Grove, 6-3, Sr., OH, Neuqua Valley   Jacob Grygo, 6-5, Sr., S, Addison TrailMarty Jepsen, 6-0, Jr., OH, MaristNick Martinski, 6-7, Sr., OH, Lake ParkMichael O’Toole, 6-5, Sr., OH, BarringtonJack Stevens, 6-3, Sr., OH, Libertyville Second Team Nick Cookingham, 6-3, Sr., S, WillowbrookTrey Cowan, 6-4, Sr., OH, Plainf...

Will it be magic, or melancholy, in Orlando?

A few Illinois girls volleyball teams still have some work to do ahead of the AAU Girls’ Junior Volleyball Nationals in Orlando, Florida, on June 16-28.SPVB 16 Elite, which went 23-1 to win the Great Lakes Power League 16 Super Open division including a 26-24, 27-25 victory in its only meeting with SPVB 16 C-Fed, stumbled in its 18 GLC Pre-Nationals 16 Open finale Sunday against its sister team, losing 25-21, 23-25, 15-11.It marked the second straight tournament that Sports Performance’s top 16s team failed to deliver on the final day. ...