(Updated 6/21) Glenbard West's Trevor Powell has committed to the University of Southern California. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Illprepvb.com is creating a list of the top boys players in Illinois from the Class of 2022 and beyond who have committed to a college or university to continue their volleyball careers. If you are a coach, club director or parent and know of a player who should be on this list, please contact us at Illprepvb@gmail.com. Class of 2022Julian Abulescu, 6-6, OH, Deerfield/Chicago Bounce VBC, University of California...
Where are Illinois' top girls' volleyball recruits in the Classes of '22, '23 headed?
(Updated 7/18) Six-foot-3 junior middle hitter Annie Eschenbach (17) of Benet Academy and 1st Alliance VBC has committed to Xavier University. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Illprepvb.com is creating a list of the top players in Illinois in the Classes of 2022 and 2023 who have committed to a college or university to continue their volleyball careers. All coaches and club directors have been invited to provide the names of their players who should be on the list. The attached list features the names of players that have been submitted so far.If...
SPVB B16 Elite, 630 17-1 roll; wheels come off others at JVA Showdown in Motown
Plagued by injuries and inconsistency, SPVB B18 Elite and setter Trevor Powell (far right) finished fourth at the JVA Showdown in Motown last weekend. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Detroit, Michigan – When everyone does their job, good things happen.SPVB B16 Elite crushed the 16 Open field at the JVA Showdown in Motown at Huntington Place (formerly the TCF Center) in Detroit, Michigan last weekend, wrapping up a near-perfect effort with a 25-19, 25-16 victory over HPSTL B16 Royal in the championship match.“The guys did a much better job of unde...
Illprepvb.com presents 250 or more reasons to watch girls volleyball in 2022
Springfield Lutheran's Makenna Cox (14) is among the many players who we watched in 2021 and who will return to the high school hardcourts in the fall of 2022. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSure, the start of the 2022 fall girls’ volleyball season is months away, but it’s never too early to speculate about what or who we’ll be seeing on high school courts across Illinois.Today, Illprepvb.com looks at 250 or more reasons to watch girls high school volleyball next fall by taking a peek at some of the best playe...
Presenting the initial Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Boys 18's Club rankings of '21-22
Plagued by injuries and inconsistency, SPVB B18 Elite dropped its final three matches and finished fourth at last weekend's JVA Showdown in Motown. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTime to play catch-up with boys’ volleyball clubs.While the girls were wrapping up their high school season, boys club teams in Illinois were quietly going about their business at THE Point Series at the Wintrust Sports Center in Bedford Park and the Third Coast Invitational at the Wisconsin Center.Last weekend, several Illinois boys’ clubs participated i...
Mitchem, Ball State are NCAA tournament-bound; and more college odds & ends
Southeast Missouri State's Laney Malloy (left) and Kayla Closset will be packing their bags for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships this week. Bolingbrook graduate and Sports Performance alumna Natalie Mitchem and her Ball State University teammates are headed to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships after defeating Bowling Green to win the Mid-American Conference championship.The 6-2 junior opposite had 11 kills, 3 blocks and 4 digs in the Cardinals’ 25-23, 29-31, 25-16, 21-25, 15-7 victory over the No. 2-seeded Fal...
Two Grevengoeds are together again for one final run before college beckons
Logan Grevengoed (10) led Chicago Cjhristian to a third-place finish in the IHSA Class 3A finals this fall at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Delanie, Troy and Logan Grevengoed in 2019. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comTroy Grevengoed has a bond with all his children … all six of them, including five daughters. But he has a special bond with his oldest daughter, Logan.Troy Grevengoed, the longtime boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, gave up the girls’ position this past fall to wa...
Club players from southern Illinois meet in St. Louis to kick off the Gateway League
Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy features a pair of Illinois products -- Edwardsville's outside hitter Sydney Davis (back row, second from left) and Quincy Notre Dame's Emma Hoing (back row, third from left). On the cover page is Edwardsville's Gabby Saye, who plays for Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite. By PJ BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe Windy City Power League does not get underway until January 8, but that does not mean the girls’ competitive club volleyball scene involving players from Illinois has been completely dormant.The Gateway League, which ...
Illprepvb.com peers into the crystal ball at the girls h.s. landscape in the coming fall
Campbell Paris (25) and her Barrington teammates should vie for a state title in 2022, but can 2021 Class 4A champion Metea Valley overcome some severe graduation losses? (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorI am often asked these questions:Which teams come through in the fall of ‘22?Considering how graduation will take a substantial toll on at least three teams that won IHSA championships in 2021, who are the likeliest candidates to replace St. Thomas More, Montini and Nazareth at the top of their respective class...
Hurta bedazzled opponents to earn SPVB/Illprepvb Player of the Year honors
Sports Performance VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year Katie Hurta led Nazareth to the school's first IHSA championship in a girls' sport November 12-13 at Redbird Arena. (Photos by Dave Ruggles). Katie Hurta of Nazareth By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFive days.That’s how long it took Nazareth senior Katie Hurta to truly understand what she and her teammates had accomplished.The 2021 Sports Performance VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year put down six of her team-high 15 kills during a third-set rally against Belvidere North i...