Four-year starter and Loyola University recruit Ella Ramsay (14) of Moline worked tirelessly to turn herself into a six-rotation player for the Maroons. (Photo by Randy Sharer) Moline's Ella Ramsay By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comMOLINE – Moline High School volleyball fans have their fingers crossed.They haven’t been able to cheer their Maroons to a state tournament berth since 2002, but now they see Ella Ramsay’s approach could lead to a Class 4A Final Four appearance at Redbird Arena on November 12-13.Fans have actually seen two...

Sophomore Jakobi Lange (7) had 13 kills for Hinsdale Central, but it wasn't enough as Glenbard West prevailed, 25-21, 25-18, at the Hinsdale Central Sectional. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Glenbard West senior Danny Pasinski knew he was going to get a lot of work Tuesday against Hinsdale Central.The 6-foot-4 outside hitter was ready for it.“We knew from the scouting report that our outside was going to work a little bit more than our other positions tonight,” Pasinski said. “So I think I got ran a little bit more, which is nice.“I hit a load to...

Augusta Southeastern's Kolby McClelland (20) ranks third on the IHSA all-time career kill list and now stars for Murray State. (Photo courtesy of Murray State). Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 51-60. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compete.The growth of club volleyball, improve...

No. 1-ranked St. Francis saw its winning streak to open the season end at 23 matches Friday at the hands of Lake Park. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comTop-ranked St. Francis no longer has the pressure of trying to go undefeated.Josh Schellinger and his Lake Park teammates made sure of that.The 6-foot-6 Schellinger and 6-5 Andrew Deardorff each put down 9 kills, and setter Elijah Wrobel dished out 24 assists as the third-ranked Lancers upset St. Francis, 25-16, 25-23, Friday in Wheaton.The loss ended a 23-match winning streak by the ...

Megan Boken played on two IHSA championship teams at St. Francis and two NCAA tournament teams at St. Louis University. (Photo courtesy of St. Louis University) Today, we begin our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 91-100. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compete.The growth of club volleyball, improved t...

Freeport Aquin has an enrollment of 88.50 students (how do you classify as a half-student?), but Lucy Arndt (12) and the Lady Bulldogs are among the favorites to reach Redbird Arena in Class 1A later this fall. Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2021 season with more previews, including those of several teams hoping to build on their success in the spring and others that are facing a total revamp after suffering heavy graduation losses. (Last spring's record in parenthesis): Barrington (14-2)Start with the Mid-Suburban League Player...

Lincolnwood returns six of its top eight players from last season's 32-6-1 campaign that ended with a 25-17, 25-19 loss to Brown County in a Class A sectional semifinal. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe real fun begins tomorrow, so today Illprepvb.com takes a look at some of the teams and players who will be gracing gymnasiums throughout Illinois this fall with their athleticism, cohesiveness and determination. Due to the number of teams responding to our request for information and the amount of information we have gathered, we ...

St. Francis and Loyola star Jeff Jendryk has blossomed from a skinny 6-foot-1 high school freshman to a member of Team USA who was preparing for the Summer Games in Tokyo when the COVID-19 crisis struck. (Photo courtesy of Loyola University) Today, we continue to count down the 50 All-Time Best Illinois Boys Volleyball Players. The players were selected based on their athletic ability, their individual accomplishments on the court, how they impacted their team’s success, their place in IHSA history, and in some cases, how they conti...

Springfield Lutheran's Makenna Cox tries to tip around two Augusta Southeastern defenders in the second IHSA Class 1A semifinal won by the Suns, 25-16, 25-23. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Class 1ABy Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNORMAL – The little engine that could ran out of steam.After surprising No. 1-ranked (Champaign) St. Thomas More in the first set, (Freeport) Aquin fell behind in each of the next two sets and could never quite catch the Sabres, falling 19-25, 25-22, 25-18 in the first IHSA Class 1A semifinal Friday at Redbird Arena...