Glenbrook South's Ellen Chapman (20) participated in IHSA tournaments in volleyball and track before going on to a solid collegiate career at Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of the University of Wisconsin) Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 61-70. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compet...

Terri Narantic has officiated seven boys' state finals and was named the IHSA Boys Volleyball Official of the Year in 2007. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) “Without officials, it’s just recess.” High school officials protect the integrity of the games student-athletes play by demonstrating qualities like honesty, objectivity, consistency, courage and common sense. They help student-athletes learn life lessons that will benefit them for a lifetime.Illinois has been fortunate to have volleyball officials who are among the best in the business....

Former Cary-Grove star and Indiana recruit Colleen Smith battled an incurable disease to star at DePaul and eventually land a head coaching job at Cary-Grove conference rival Jacobs. (Photo courtesy of DePaul University) Colleen Smith served as assistant coach at Cary-Grove before she was hired to head the program at Jacobs. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comColleen Smith still remembers the day she learned the identity of her tormentor.It was September 22, 2011, early during Smith’s freshman year at Indiana, where the former Cary...

Libertyville's Jack Stevens led the Wildcats to three consecutive regional championships. (Photos courtesy of Chicago Tribune) Today, we continue to count down the 50 All-Time Best Illinois Boys Volleyball Players. The players were selected based on their athletic ability, their individual accomplishments on the court, how they impacted their team’s success, their place in IHSA history, and in some cases, how they continued to represent themselves and Illinois volleyball on the national and international stage. High School boys ha...

The nucleus of Sky High Adidas 18 Black has been together since they were 12-year-olds. They are trying to make their final season together one to remember. https://youtu.be/5mT8j2vTEaM “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – Winnie the Pooh.Sky High Adidas 18 Black’s Camryn Hausler and Taylor Jakubowski have been teammates at the Crystal Lake Club for the better part of nine years. Maddie Blake, Josie Schmitendorf, Hausler and Jakubowski have been together for almost eight.But come May 4 – the day afte...

Mike Layne was named the new head coach at Pinckneyville in late July after more than 20 years as head coach at Murphysboro. Mike Layne took a year off from coaching to watch daughter Stephanie play at Judson University in Elgin. Mike Layne is trading in his Crimson/Corn polo for Columbia Blue.Layne, who won nearly 1,000 matches as head coach of the Murphysboro high school and middle school girls’ volleyball programs, was recently hired at Pinckneyville High School to be the Lady Panthers’ next head coach.Layne succeeds Cathy Kohnen, wh...

1st Alliance 18 Silver setter Elizabeth Sandt (37), one of only four team members who have experience playing with each other, likes the direction the team is going. https://youtu.be/SFjT9Wnvbjo Elizabeth Sandt saw only a few familiar faces when 1st Alliance 18 Silver got together for its first practice two months ago.“The team is pretty new this year,” said Sandt, a product of Nazareth Academy who guided the Roadrunners to a third-place finish in IHSA Class 3A last fall following the first-ever semifinal appearance in school history.“...

West Aurora middle hitter Emilio Ortiz (back row, left) has been playing in a popular Mexican band, L2M Y Su Grupo Sierreño, for the past three years. But the coronovirus pandemic has forced Ortiz to put both careers on hold. Ortiz was inspired to take up the guitar by the late Mexican pop star Ariel Camacho, who died in a car accident in 2015 at the age of 22. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comVolleyball is music to Emilio Ortiz’s ears. Ortiz, a senior at West Aurora, is a middle hitter on the Blackhawks’ volleyball team....

Naperville North's Colleen Ward began her college career at Florida before transferring to Illinois where she led the Illini to the NCAA semifinals in 2011. Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 31-40. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compete.The growth of club volleyball, improved tr...