Shepard improved to 30-3 overall and won its 24th consecutive match, defeating Oak Lawn, 26-24, 25-17, Tuesday in Palos Heights. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe 2024 season must seem like a distant memory for Shepard’s 5-10 setter Conor Harkala, who was a sophomore setter on a team that finished 6-24.What a difference a few years can make.Tuesday, Harkala had 24 assists and twin brother Dylan added 10 kills as Shepard won its 24th consecutive match, improving to a program-best 30-3 overall and 10-0 in the South Suburban Conference ...
Student, scholar, athlete – York’s Hunter Stepanich is a modern renaissance man
As a junior tight end/defensive end, Hunter Stepanich (87) helped lead the Dukes to the IHSA championship game. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Outlier. Unicorn. Throwback. These are the some of the adjectives that can be used to describe York’s Hunter Stepanich. But even they might not be sufficient to describe what the 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior has accomplished during his remarkable high school career. Stepanich, who has committed to play football and volleyball at Princeton, has led the Dukes’ football, basketball an...
Belleville East slumbers during bus ride, awakens to defeat hosts at Willowbrook
Willowbrook's Matt Ciesinski (42) had 10 kills, but Belleville East won the teams' meeting at the Willowbrook invite, 15-25, 25-21, 15-12. (Photo courtesy of PiehouseSix.com/Sports) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Some teams can get off the bus ready to rock. That wasn’t the case for Belleville East on Friday. For the second time this season, the Lancers made the trip up Interstate 55 to play in the Chicago area, this time to make their debut at the Willowbrook Invite. “It’s a four-and-a-half hour drive,” said Belleville Ea...
What’s not to like about the IHSA’s RPI seeding system in boys volleyball? Plenty.
Oak Park-River Forest's standout junior Jimmie Chrusfield III missed Saturday's semifinal loss to Glenbard West at Lincoln-Way East while heading to California to train with the USAV U19 Men's National Team. Fortunately, that loss did not affect the Huskies' sectional seeding. But what if it did? (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Do you hear those shrieks of shock, disbelief and desperation emanating from throughout Illinois? That’s the sound of volleyball coaches and athletic directors racing to their em...
Presenting the latest Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Boys H.S. Rankings
Glenbard West sophomore Lukas Wallin (15) looks to go over the block of Marist junior middle blocker Michael Forbes (6) during the championship match of the Lincoln-Way East Invitational on Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) (Updated, 2:13 p.m., Tuesday, May 5)By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorCan one day make a difference? The IHSA is expected to release the brackets, seedings and regional pairings for the boys volleyball tournament later this week. Seedings will be based on the IHSA RPI Formula (40/40/20) where RPI = (0.40 x team’s w...
Ultimate/Illprepvb Player of the Week Michal Marcisz making up for lost time
Glenbrook South's 6-5 opposite/setter Michal Marcisz led the Titans to a 7-1 record last weekn including a fifth-place finish at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Glenbrook South’s 6-5 opposite/setter Michal Marcisz sat out last season with an injury, and the Titans are delighted to have him back.The same cannot be said of Glenbrook South’s opponents. Marcisz, a 6-5 senior, is on a tear. Last week, he averaged better than 10 kills and 7 assists per match to lead the Titans...
Chris ‘Godzilla’ Cudzilo, Glenbard West storm past Marist at Lincoln-Way East
Marist's sophomore setter Joey Staresinich (23) looks for a teammate during the championship match of the Lincoln-Way East Invitational Saturday in Frankfort. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Christian Cudzilo turned into Godzilla, and Glenbard West avenged its only two losses of the season to capture the championship of the 34th Lincoln-Way East Boys' Volleyball Invitational. Cudzilo clubbed a match-high 9 kills and added 6 digs and 2 blocks in the title match, a 25-11, 25-17 victory over Marist, Satur...
South never gets down in the mouth, the Hawks just respond … Maine-ly speaking
Maine South's six seniors -- (from left) Luka Babich, Simon Zwierczyk, Daniel Troyan, Nelson Arteta, Caden Kalinowksi and Elijah Graves -- celebrated a victory over Maine West Thursday in Park Ridge. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Maine South coach Garrett Fechner wasn’t going anywhere.“The thing I’m proud of our boys is … what really good teams do when not every play is going your way, it's the response, OK?” Fechner said. “You can just take it, or how do you respond to being down? You can call it a night, but I said them, ‘I’m...
Built on friendships to build a winning record, Morton stays hot at Willowbrook
Morton improved to 15-4 overall and 3-1 in the West Suburban Gold by defeating Willowbrook on Tuesday with a team that features a heavy reliance on youth, senior leadership and friendship. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt starts with building friendships.Veteran Morton coach Tony Hornilla was faced with a dilemma at the start of the season. The two pin hitters he expected to fill those roles this spring did not return. “I called up two sophomores last year who were in line to be our next pins, but one left to play tennis...
Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb Player of the Week Matthew Proskey of OPRF is ‘The Man’
Oak Park-River Forest setter Matthew Proskey hopes to finish his high school career where it began ... in the IHSA tournament finals. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Anyone who has ever played baseball knows it can get lonely playing the field, particularly in the outfield. You can go batter after batter, inning after inning, without ever making a play or contributing in any meaningful way. But in volleyball, Oak Park-River Forest’s Matthew Proskey is never alone. “Matt gave up baseball to play vol...