Normal U-High finally knocked off Bloomington on its third try Saturday at the Intercity Tournament. By Randy ShearerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL — The Normal University High School volleyball team displayed steady passing and deadly hitting on its way to winning the 40th annual Intercity Tournament on Saturday.The secret to success, however, may have been something else as the Pioneers faced Bloomington in their fourth match of the day without a rest.“It's a battle of will,” said U-High coach Michael Bolhuis, whose school hadn't...
Marian Catholic doesn’t stop believing, beats Mother McAuley at Rich East
Marian Catholic rallied from a 9-point deficit in the first set to defeat Mother McAuley and win the Rich East tournament.By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com"Don't Stop Believin.'"No, the Journey song was not played at Rich East High School on Saturday evening. But if it had been, it would have been the theme song of the Marian Catholic girls’ volleyball team.Down by 9 points midway through the opening set, the Spartans charged back, saved 4 set points and rallied for a 26-24, 25-18 victory over Mother McAuley to capture the championshi...
Former DeKalb, Sports Performance star now coaching Quincy Notre Dame
Former DeKalb, Sports Performance and Wisconsin star Courtney (nee Thomas) Kvitle is now the head coach at Quincy Notre Dame. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comVolleyball runs through Courtney Kvitle's blood.A standout player at DeKalb High School and Sports Performance Volleyball Club, she went onto achieve All-American status at the University of Wisconsin. As a junior there in 2013, she helped lead the Badgers to an appearance in the NCAA championship match.“That was amazing,” Kvitle said. “It was nothing like I've ever experienced....
Who is this week’s Illprepvb.com ‘Player of the Week?’
Each week during the season, Illprepvb.com will name a "Player of the Week" selected from nominations provided by Illinois volleyball coaches. Coaches can nominate their players by providing a 100-150 word summary of their achievement and a 2x3-inch high quality headshot and sending it to illprepvb@gmail.com by noon on Sunday of the week for which they wish to nominate a player.This week’s “Player of the Week” is (Stanford) Olympia’s 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter Kalli Terrell. Terrell is a four-year varsity standout who recently recorded ...
Match of the Week: Marist, Minooka collide in reboot of 2017 Class 4A title bout
Minooka saw its eight-match winning streak snapped Tuesday by No. 1-ranked Marist, which extended its win streak to 49 and moved into second place on the Illinois' all-time win streak list. By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com If a team is going to move up the ranks of the all-time win list, it might as well do it in a big match. That's what the Marist volleyball team did Tuesday. By virtue of its 25-13, 25-21 victory over the host Indians in Minooka, the RedHawks won their 49th consecutive match to move into sol...
Wren Decker, Nazareth power past York in Mother McAuley Preview final
By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Wren Decker won't be there next season when Nazareth is back at the ASICS Challenge.But the senior outside hitter was glad that she helped her team get there.Decker crushed 7 kills, including the match winner, as the Roadrunners rallied down the stretch of the second set and defeated York 25-17, 28-26 on Saturday to win the McAuley Preview Tournament.The winner of the Preview tournament automatically advances to next year’s ASICS Tournament, which is one of the top tournaments in the country. It was ...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.Com 2018 Week Five Girls Rankings
York's Jessica Levy powers home a kill during a recent match. 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week Five Girls Rankings(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)1. Marist (1) 18-0Avery Jedry putting up big numbers for No. 1. 2. Sterling (2) 17-0Big showdown Tuesday when LaSalle-Peru visits. 3. Benet (3) 15-4Senior setter Ally Van Eekeren dishes, blocks, kills, digs.4. Marian Catholic (4) 15-3‘Temi’ time too tough for Mother McAuley at Rich East5. Plainfield Central (5) 13-4Regan Trueblood knows where to turn at crunch time.6. Naza...
Marist survives test from Benet to win Wheaton Classic
Prairie Ridge overcame the loss of setter Jayden Otto (ankle) to win the Wheaton Classic Silver division. Any chance Marist’s players had to be on time for their Homecoming celebration Saturday night was squashed when the title match against Benet at the Wheaton Classic hosted by Wheaton Warrenville South started nearly two hours later than the scheduled 5:00 p.m. start time.Was it worth the wait?You’d have to ask the RedHawks, but an educated guess would be an emphatic “Yes.”No. 1-ranked Marist (16-0) rallied from a 14-11 deficit in the...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.Com 2018 Week Four Girls Rankings
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week Four Girls Rankings(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)1. Marist (1) 16-0RedHawks win second straight Wheaton Classic title. 2. Sterling (2) 16-0Golden Warriors travel to Rochelle Tuesday, Ottawa Thursday. 3. Benet (3) 12-4Redwings second at Wheaton despite missing leading attacker.4. Marian Catholic (5) 8-3After losing to Marist, Spartans visit Joliet Catholic Tuesday.5. Plainfield Central (17) 10-4Cannot close out Marist after leading 23-21 in the third set.6. Nazareth Academy (14) 13-2...
Marist extends win streak to 43, takes down Marian Catholic again
Illprepvb.com Crosstown Showdown champion Marist won its 43rd straight match Tuesday. By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com Marist just knows how to win. The top-ranked and defending Class 4A state champions demonstrated that again Tuesday. Facing another top opponent in a key conference clash, the visiting RedHawks dominated the third set and went onto a 25-19, 23-25, 25-13 victory over Marian Catholic in an East Suburban Catholic Conference matchup in Chicago Heights. It marked the 43rd straight match that Marist ...