Benet Academy's Annie Eschenbach slams a kill past the outstretched arms of Oswego East's Cailyn Smiley (14) and Ava Stiller (13) during Monday's first sectional semifinal at Plainfield North. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAnnie Eschenbach remembers.“This is the game that we lost last year,” said Eschenbach, Benet Academy’s 6-4 middle hitter and one of a handful of returning starters who lived through last year’s 25-14, 18-25, 25-18 sectional semifinal loss to Plainfield North at Oswego.“Going into this game,...
Monday, October 31 IHSA sectional scores
Freshman Lynney Tarnow (12) had 7 kills to lead Benet Academy past Oswego East Monday at Plainfield North. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Monday, October 31 resultsClass 1ABluford Webber SectionalEffingham St. Anthony def. Edwards County 28-26, 25-23Effingham St. Anthony (28-8 overall, 7-1 in the National Trail Conference).Edwards County (27-12 overall, 8-2 in the Black Diamond East).Norris City-Omaha-Enfield def. (Farina) South Central 21-25, 25-19, 25-10Norris City-Omaha-Enfield (36-2 overall, 10-0 in the Greater Egyptian Conference).(Farina) S...
Time to switch gears … here is our first look at Illinois' top boys' club 18s teams
SPVB 18 Lenny finished third in the 18 Premier division at the AAU/JVA Chi-Town Boys Challenge on November 19-21. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhile we were sleeping … While the Illinois high school girls were completing their run to the IHSA finals in Normal, boys’ club teams throughout the state began in earnest. So, it’s time to play a little catch-up.Today, we start with a look at the top 18s teams in Illinois. All but Blue Steel – which competes in the HPSTL Ladder Series in St. Louis -- have completed three of four se...
Friday, November 4 IHSA supersectional results
Loyola Academy sophomore Grace Kreutz (13) had 6 kills in a losing effort against St. Charles East on Friday at the Hinsdale Central IHSA Class 4A Supersectional. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Friday, November 4 Supersectional Results(in bracket order)Class 1A(Elgin) Harvest Christian SupersectionalAquin def. Grant Park 25-19, 25-11Aquin (39-1 overall, 12-0 in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference): Lucy Arndt (13 kills, 4 digs), Ainsley Stovall (5 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace), Megan Holder (19 assists, 1 ace), Hanna Pizzolato (10 digs, 2 aces).Grant ...
Taylorville stuns No. 1 Normal U-High; IC's Falduto, Russ keep their vow
The Taylorville Tornado3s are surrounded by their fans after knocking off No. 1-ranked Normal U-High at the (Chatham) Glenwood Class 3A Supersectional. (Photo by Randy Sharer) At (Chatham) GlenwoodCHATHAM – Down a set and trailing 23-17 in Game 2, Taylorville needed a lot of things to go right in order to upset Normal University High in the Chatham Glenwood Class 3A Supersectional on Friday.The stars improbably aligned as Taylorville pulled out a 22-25, 26-24, 25-23 shocker over U-High, which came in ranked No. 1 by Illprepvb.com.“We w...
Presenting the 2022 Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Special Mention Team
Oswego East's Vivian Campbell (far court) led the Wolves to a Southwest Prairie Conference title and one of the best seasons in school historty. On the home page is Joliet Catholic's Ava Neushwander. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we are pleased to announce the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com 2022 Girls All-State Volleyball Special Mention Team. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom as high school stu...
Aquin feels no pressure in 1A; G-K's Pierce puts dagger in IC Catholic's 2A title bid
Alayna Pierce (16) had 18 kills to lead Genoa-Kingston past IC Catholic Prep in the Class 2A championship match Saturday at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor NORMAL -- Genoa-Kingston’s Alayna Pierce didn’t have the kind of performance she had hoped for in the Cogs’ semifinal victory Friday over Chillicothe IVC. The 5-foot-11 junior had 8 kills, but those came at the expense of 38 attempts and 9 errors for a -.025 hitting percentage.So, Pierce went back to the drawing board.“At practice this mor...
Be like … Sophie? Arndt is Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year
Lucy Arndt (12) grew up wanting to emulate former Aquin great Sophie Brunner, who led the Bulldogs to two IHSA championships in basketball. Leading Aquin to an IHSA Class 1A championship this fall certainly qualifies. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFreeport Aquin’s Lucy Arndt grew up wanting to emulate Sophie Brunner, who led the Aquin girls’ basketball team to IHSA Class 1A championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13 before playing at Arizona State University and briefly in the WNBA and Italy.Arndt did emulate ...
Aquin's Arndt joins a list of 'Player of the Year' honorees that dates back to 1982
Ryann DeJarld, who played at Mother McSAuley and later at Notre Dame, was the last playerr honored as "Player of the Year" by the Chicago Sun-Times before it discontinued its coverage of all high school sports other than football and boys basketball in the spring of 2015. (Photo courtesy of the University of Notre Dame) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorDid you know that girls were not permitted to participate in interscholastic volleyball contests until 1973?Then during the 1974-75 school year, the IHSA sponsored its first volleyball t...
Here are the final 2022 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Girls H.S. Rankings
Genoa-Kingston assistant coach Marv Leavitt (white jacket), who won more than 700 matches as a head coach at St. Charles North, St. Edward and Burlington Central, lets the Cogs know where they placed in the IHSA Class 2A tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) In the immortal words of the late Bill Paxton ("Aliens"), “That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over.” Game over.Last weekend’s IHSA championships were a mixed bag of old and new. Mother McAuley won its state-record 16th IHSA championship, while St. Francis, which won 12 ...