1st Alliance 18 Gold won the Open division of the Windy City Girls' 18s National Qualifier for the second consecutive year thanks to the efforts of outside hitter Kiera O'Donnell (1) and friends. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllpprepvb.com EditorThe ladies from 1st Alliance VBC will have dozens of familiar faces with whom to share experiences and make memories at the 2025 USA Volleyball Girls’ 18s Junior National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 25-27.Three teams from the Woodridge-based club punched their ti...

Club Fusion 18-1 National's Elissa Furlan splits a pair of TPV 18-Paragon defenders as the defending 18 Liberty champions went 3-0 Saturday at the Schaumburg Convention Center. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTwo Illinois teams came away with bids from last year’s Windy City Girls’ 18s National Qualifier at the Schaumburg Convention Center – 1st Alliance 18 Gold in the Open division and Club Fusion 18-1 National in the Liberty division.The names and faces have changed in the past 12 months, but through first-ro...

Former IC Catholic Prep and 1st Alliance VBC great Ava Falduto contributed 14 digs and 2 aces in Penn State's win over Louisville in the NCAA national championship game. (Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics). https://youtu.be/BAiGpbOhCIw By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMelissa Masterson first coached in the IHSA state finals in 2019, when her Nazareth Roadrunners lost, 25-19, 25-18, to Sterling in a Class 3A semifinal.That match featured a pair of outstanding liberos in Nazareth sophomore Gillian Grimes and Sterling junio...

Former Marist star Kamryn Chaney (right) transferred from Princeton to Vanderbilt via the NCAA transfer portal. On the cover is former Sterling and Ohio State standout Grace Egan,, who transferred to Wisconsin. (File photos by Dave Ruggles) Good or bad – the face of college sports has been inexorably changed by the transfer portal, which has given athletes the power to move on to another school for any number of reasons – looking for a better fit academically, a coaching change, etc.The number of college students entering the transfe...

The Windy City Girls' 18s National Qualifier returns to the Schaumburg Convention Center this weekend as 124 teams vie for berths in the Open, USA, American and Liberty divisions at the 2025 USAV Girls' 18s Junior National Championship on April 23-25 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorToday, we announce the second Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week for the 2025 Boys/Girls Club season.Each week during the club season,we will be naming a “Player of the Week.” Coaches/club ...

Sky HIgh Adidas 18 Elite is one of six teams that finished the weekend 6-0 in the 17/18 Open division seeding event of the Windy City Power League. On the home page is Adversity G18 Adidas' Grace Kreutz (Loyola Academy). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe gang is back together at Adversity.Six-foot-1 outside hitter Grace Kreutz (Loyola Academy), who sat out last year with an injury and now wears a brace on her left leg, and 5-11 setter/rightside Victoria Belmonte (Fremd), who missed the last two years after suffering a knee injury and...

SPVB 18 Elite's Bella Bullington (22) was also nominated for Player of the Week after producing 48 kills and 10 aces during last weekend's preseason scrimmage at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorToday, we announce the first Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week for the 2025 Boys/Girls Club season.Each week during the club season, we will be naming a “Player of the Week.” Coaches/club directors throughout Illinois have been invited to nominate a boys’ or girls’ pl...