Presenting the initial Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com Boys 18s, 17s Club Rankings

Chicago Bounce 18 Red should get even better when Barrington's Ben Ridgway and New Trier's Peter Brown are fully healthy. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The preseason is over. Let the qualifier season begin. The 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place on January 18-20 will give us a better idea of where the Illinois boys club teams stack up regionally and nationally, but after three weekends at Palos Courts, it’s never too early to speculate on who are some of the best bets to make noise on the lakefront. So here i...

Former Sandburg star tackles new role as assistant coach at Pepperdine

Matt Pollock (back row, No. 18) was named to the Chicago Sun-Times All-Area Boys Volleyball Team in 2008. (Sun-Times photo by Jean Lachat. Cover photo courtesy of JVC Civita Castellana) Matt Pollock played professionally overseas after graduating from Pepperdine. (Photo courtesy of JVC Civita Castellana) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMatt Pollock is excited.But the Orland Park native and 2008 Sandburg graduate is not only excited about his new job as assistant men's volleyball coach at Pepperdine University, where he starr...

SPVB 16 Elite is likely to face some adversity as it seeks to repeat last season's success

SPVB 16 Elite, which added five new faces to the roster that finished second in the nation as 15s last summer. Question: Which was the only team from Illinois to reach an open division championship at the 2019 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas, last summer?It wasn’t Ultimate B18 Gold, which won the 2019 Boys Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place on January 19-21 and topped the final Illprepvb.com boys club rankings. The boys from the south side finished 10th at nationals.It wasn’t Chicago Bounce 17 R...

Boys' club volleyball season takes center stage with B18-Palos Point Series #3

Chicago Bounce 18 Red defeated Ultimate B18 Gold, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11, in its opener Saturday at Palos Courts to ensure a return trip to Bracket A on Sunday. Most coaches like to break down the boys’ club volleyball seasons into three parts – the preseason, the qualifier season and nationals.The preseason continued Saturday at Palos Courts in Palos Heights with the B18-Palos Point Series #3.The B18-Palos Point Series will wrap up Sunday before breaking for the holidays with a couple of newcomers joining holdovers Future 18 Elite, UNO Boys 1...

Illprepvb.com dusts off the crystal ball with a look at the 2020 girls' season

(Photos by Dave Ruggles) Which teams will have firepower aplenty come the fall of 2020? Will Decatur St. Teresa and Breese Mater Dei meet for a second consecutive year in the IHSA Class 2A championship match? The IHSA’s arbitrary “rolling of the peas” could be the only impediment.Will Benet repeat in Class 4A one year after the Redwings prevented Marist from winning a third consecutive IHSA championship? Can Sterling join St. Francis as the only teams to three-peat in 3A? Can Norris City-Omaha-Enfield get back to Redbird Arena without Emile...

Jakubowski goes the extra mile for inexperienced Huntley team

Seton Hall-bound setter Taylor Jakubowski has led Huntley to a 18-2 record despite the graduation of seven seniors and several key starters from last year's 35-4 team. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) (Editor's note: This story originally ran on October 9, 2019) Huntley's 5-foot-8 senior setter Taylor Jakubowski. Although no exacting scientific study has been published on the subject, some estimates put the distance a setter runs during a match at anywhere from a half-mile to three miles.Then there are days where a setter may feel like the...

Illprepvb.com announces 2019 Player, Team, Coach of the Year and First Team All-State

Huntley's Taylor Jakubowski, who concluded her stellar four-year varsity career as Illinois' second all-time assist leader, is the 2019 Illprepvb.com Player of the Year. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we are pleased to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Girls First Team All-State Volleyball Team, our Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom...

Sterling’s Rodriguez, WW South’s Meyer head Illprepvb.com All-State Second Team

Sterling junior Lexi Rodriguez, a Nebraska recruit, assumed an expanded role as libero and setter to help lead the Golden Warriors to a second consecutive IHSA Class 3A championship. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we continue to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Girls All-State Volleyball Team with those players named to the Second Team. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom as high school stu...

Marist’s Arundel, St. Teresa’s Huck head Illprepvb.com All-State Third Team

Maddie Arundel was among Marist's leaders in almost every statistical category. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we continue to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Girls All-State Volleyball Team with those players named to the Third Team. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom as high school student-athletes, not on any future potential or current recruitment status. Players represent all four IHS...

M-R’s Gillen, BHRA’s Meidel head 2019 Girls All-State Honorable Mention Team

Joliet Catholic's Bella Ray (left) led the Angels to a second-place finish in Class 3A. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Today, we continue to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Girls All-State Volleyball Team with those players named Honorable Mention. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom as high school student-athletes, not on any future potential or current recruitment status. Players represent all...