Normal U-High bests St. Thomas More in showdown of 1A, 3A state powers

Sophomore outside hitter Levyn Snow (5) and the Normal U-High Pioneers, coming off a 3-2 performance at last weekend's Illprepvb.com Plainfield North Crimson Classic, rallied to defeat defending IHSA Class 1A champion St. Thomas More on Monday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – The question of how far apart elite teams are in different classes got an answer on Monday when reigning IHSA Class 1A champion Champaign St. Thomas More traveled 58 miles to visit Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked Normal University Hi...

Wednesday, August 31 results

Illini West defeated Liberty at the Augusta Southeastern Lady Suns Classic on Wednesday and will play Brown County at 6:00 p.m. Thursday. Late Tuesday, August 30 result Freeburg def. Highland 25-7, 25-20Freeburg (3-0 overall, 0-0 in the Cahokia Conference): Bella Borja (5 aces, 7 digs, 8 kills), Kylie Kisgen (3 assists, 16 digs), Lindsey Muskopf (5 kills, 14 digs), Avery Hesseldenz (2 blocks, 4 digs, 11 kills).Wednesday, August 31 resultsAndrew def. Downers Grove South N/RAndrew (4-4 overall, 0-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference): M...

Saturday, August 27 tournament results

Lincoln-Way East libero Lexi Byas and the Griffins defeated Southwest Suburban Conference foe Lockport to win the Crimson Classic hosted by Plainfield North at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora and sponsored by Illprepvb.com. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Saturday, August 27 results At Plainfield North Crimson Classic Lincoln-Way East def. Lockport 25-23, 25-21 (championship)Lockport (4-2 overall, 0-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference): Grace Juergens (6 kills), Lainey Green (14 assists, 4 aces), Payt...

Friday, August 26 tournament results

Friday, August 26 tournament results At Plainfield North Crimson Classic Saturday's brackets At Plainfield North Crimson Classic Hinsdale Central def. Plainfield East 25-12, 25-10Hinsdale Central (2-0 overall, 0-0 in the West Suburban Silver): Ava Young (5 aces, 5 digs, 3 assists), Amber Pelton (2 aces, 7 assists), Erika Kalman (2 aces, 2 kills, 1 block, 2 digs), Kaitlyn Thick (4 kills, 3 blocks), Ellie Henneman (1 kill), Grace Scott (2 blocks), India Jones Shah (1 block), Alexa Knapp (3 assists)...

Tuesday, August 30 results

The West Chicago Wildcats defeated South Elgin on Tuesday in their first meeting since South Egin denied West Chicago a piece of the Upstate Eight Conference title late last season. Tuesday, August 30 resultsAquin Catholic def. Warren 25-12, 25-10Aquin Catholic (1-0 overall, 0-0 in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference): Lucy Arndt (6 kills, 10 digs), Ainsley Stovall (6 kills, 4 digs), Megan Holder (16 assists, 5 digs,) Bentleah Stovall (3 kills, 5 aces).Arthur-Lovington Atwood-Hammond def. Chrisman 25-19, 25-15Arthur-Lovington Atwood-Ha...

Friday, August 26 result

Friday, August 26 result Marian Central def. Belvidere 25-12, 25-19Marian Central (2-1 overall): Hadley Rogge (4 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs), Ella Conlon (6 kills, 4 digs), Kaitlyn Mullen (8 assists, 6 digs, 1 ace), Danielle Lipnisky (4 kills, 1 dig). ...

Monday, August 29 results

The Henry-Senachwine Mallards Late Saturday, August 27 result Flanagan-Cornell def. Cornerstone Christian Academy 25-21 25-12Flanagan-Cornell (1-2 overall, 0-0 in the Heart of Illinois Conference): Kortney Harms (1 assists, 12 kills, 5 digs), Grace Zimmerman (2 kills, 5 digs), Reagan Montello (10 assists), Kalynne Kindermann (8 digs, 2 aces).Monday, August 29 resultsBurlington Central def. DeKalb 25-21, 25-17Burlington Central (1-2 overall, 0-2 in the Fox Valley Conference): Leah Freesemann (7 kills, 10 digs), Brooke Hoffman (8 kill...

Marist soul-searching sears St. Francis; Metamora vexes Normal West in 3A tussle

Metamora sophomore Esma Frieden (8) banged out 22 kills to lead the Redbirds to a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19 victory Tuesday at Normal West. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) CHICAGO -- Between 2017-19, the Marist girls’ volleyball team lost a total of seven matches in winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles and then placing third.Last Saturday, the RedHawks dropped two matches in a row and finished fourth at the Crimson Classic, which led them to do some soul-searching.“I feel like it motivated me to be more of an impact player,” said Marist outside h...