VC United 181 Elite’s Erdmann hopes to break out of small-school stereotype

Katie Erdmann of tiny Forreston (back row, second from right) led the state in kills last fall. Now she's looking to take her game to the next level. People’s reactions range from stoic to surprised when Katie Erdmann tells people she goes to tiny Forreston High School (enrollment: 246), nestled in the northwest corner of Illinois some 30 miles west of Rockford. “They don’t really joke about it, but they always ask me how many people are in my class,” she said. “When I tell them about 50, they say, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ “Yes … I know ...

SPVB B18 Elite seeking to finish the work it started two years ago

SPVB B18 Elite features (front row, from left) Albert Atczylo (Hinsdale South), Carter Stenmark (Naperville Central), Frederick Halper (Downers Grove North), Ryan Swartz (Glenbard West) and Kevin Lamp (Lake Forest), and (back row, from left) Joshua Gottlieb (Wheaton Warrenville South), Benett Schreiner (Wheaton North), Danny Risner (West Aurora), Rico Wardlow (Bolingbrook), Hunter Bailey (Timothy Christian) and Kevin Kauling (Neuqua Valley). This is the season SPVB B18 Elite has been pointing toward since finishing second in the 16 Open ...

Twins Breelyn and Brooklyn Borum — there were never such devoted (and competitive) sisters

SPVB 16 Elite features (front row, from left) Brooklyn Borum (Sterling), Emily Wilson (Joliet Catholic), Ariel Amaya (Plainfield North), Breelyn Borum (Sterling) and Zayna Meyer (Wheaton Warrenville South), and (back row, from left) Lauren Nyong (Aurora Christian), Leah Bylut (Shepard), Alexis Rodriguez (Sterling) and Ellie Hall (Naperville North). Missing is Abbey Clarke (Oswego East). No matter what the sport, no matter what the season, twins Breelyn and Brooklyn Borum of Sterling have been competing against and with each other as long a...