Class 1A No. 1 Newark (31-1) defeated Class 3A Metamora and Morton to win last weekend's Saints Fall Classic at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. You can bet the stands will be full Tuesday when Class 4A No. 2 Marist entertains top-ranked and unbeaten Benet. The two programs have dominated Class 4A volleyball the past eight years with Benet winning three IHSA championships (2011, 2013, 2014) during that period and Marist winning the last two. Last year, the programs met three times. Marist defeated Benet to win the Wheaton ...
Benet avenges last year’s loss to Huntley in Autumnfest championship match
Huntley defeated Mother McAuley in the semifinals of Autumnfest, avenging an earlier loss to the Mighty Macs at the Asics Challenge. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comBenet’s masterful season continues. The undefeated Redwings, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by Illprepvb.com, rarely let up and defeated No. 10 Huntley, 25-11, 25-21, in the title match of the Autumnfest tournament Saturday at Glenbard East in Lombard. Sophie Gregus led a balanced attack for Benet (34-0) with 6 kills, junior setter and tournament m...
Lemont, Shepard look ahead after Indians wrap up home schedule with a victory
Lemont junior Amanda Rice (12) had 8 kills to help her senior teammates win their home finale Thursday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Lemont's Amy Schwem. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comDuring the second set of Thursday night’s showdown between Lemont and Shepard, Lemont setter Amy Schwem's poster picture from the Senior Night festivities fell off the wall.That was about the only thing that went wrong for the Indians.Lemont defeated Shepard, 25-14, 25-14, in a South Suburban Conference crossover match between the two teams that had a...
Belvidere North, Sterling get acquainted before potential supersectional showdown
Defending Class 3A champion Sterling may have to get past Belvidere North in the supersectional if the Golden Warriors hope to repeat ... provided both teams make it that far. Last year, behind Air Force recruit Brooklyn Messenger, Belvidere North went 34-4 including 18-0 in the NIC-10 before running afoul of St. Charles East in a Class 4A sectional semifinal.But like what seems to be a countless number of schools affected by the IHSA’s enrollment reclassification, Belvidere North dropped down to Class 3A this season.So instead of teams li...
Fall Harvest Festival, Autumnfest will test Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com’s best
Six-foot-2 junior middle hitter Storm Suhre (17) and Edwardsville went 3-2 at last weekend's Scholastic Cup tournament hosted by St. Charles East at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Class 4A powerhouses Benet and Marist headline the two major tournaments in the Chicago area this weekend. Marist (25-2) is the top seed at the 30-team Fall Harvest Festival sponsored by Illprepvb.com at Plainfield Central beginning Friday with pool play at Plainfield North and the host school. Plainfield North is the No...
McGuire, Benet erase big second-set deficit to top Minooka, win Scholastic Cup
Benet rallied from a 19-14 deficit in Game 2 to defeat Hailey Sperling (2) and Minooka in the championship match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) No one expected Benet to blow past Minooka 25-9 in the first game of their championship match Saturday at the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora.And likely no one expected Benet to find itself trailing 5-0, 10-5 and 19-14 in the second game. “I think the other team step...
Edwardsville putting the fun back into its game at St. Charles East Scholastic Cup
Edwardsville defeated Hinsdale Central and Neuqua Valley on Friday to advance to Gold Pool B at the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup tournament hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. Edwardsville is putting a new emphasis on having fun.After all, you don’t drive 248 miles to have a bad time.Friday at the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup tournament hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora, the Tigers defeated Hinsdale Central, 25-20, 25-17, and Neuqua Valley, 28-26, 25-19, to advance to Gold Pool B Saturday wher...
Andrew, Haggerty are getting accustomed to having to prove themselves
Andrew is on the verge of 20 wins for the first time since 2012. Andrew's four-year starting outside hitter Bri Haggerty. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comBri Haggerty has been a four-year varsity leader for Andrew volleyball. The outside hitter only played the first set Thursday. But that was fine with her. Haggerty still led the way with 9 kills and 6 digs as Andrew toppled District 230 rival Stagg, 25-16, 25-17, in a Southwest Suburban Conference Red Division match Thursday in Tinley Park. Haggerty was one of ...
Joliet West gets help from some unlikely sources to defeat Yorkville
Joliet West overcame the loss of two starters for disciplinary reasons to defeat Yorkville and remain in the thick of the Southwest Prairie Conference race. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWith two players sitting out this week for a team rule violation, the Joliet West volleyball team could have let down Tuesday against Yorkville. Instead, the Tigers had players step up.A trio of players moved into different positions and all did well as the Tigers pounced on Yorkville, 25-15, 25-19, in a Southwest Prairie contest in Jolie...
Jakubowski goes the extra mile for inexperienced Huntley team
Seton Hall-bound setter Taylor Jakubowski has led Huntley to a 18-2 record despite the graduation of seven seniors and several key starters from last year's 35-4 team. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Huntley's 5-foot-8 senior setter Taylor Jakubowski. Although no exacting scientific study has been published on the subject, some estimates put the distance a setter runs during a match at anywhere from a half-mile to three miles.Then there are days where a setter may feel like they’ve run a half-marathon, scrambling from pin to pin and net to e...