(Photos of Wednesday's South Suburban Conference match between Bremen and Shepard by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFor Lincoln-Way East, boys volleyball conference titles are old hat.But this one is extra special.Wednesday in Frankfort, the Griffins rallied past Sandburg, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, to clinch at least a share of the Southwest Suburban Conference championship. It's the 12th conference championship for Lincoln-Way East since the league formed in the fall of 2005. But it's also the Griffins’ first since wi...

Rockford Lutheran's Lauren Spangler hits against the block of St. Teresa's Addison Newbon (35) and Valerie Nutakor (25). (Photo by Dave Ruggles) NORMAL – Breese Mater Dei coach Chad Rakers didn’t have time to think about what went right. “I’m still thinking about all the things we have to fix (before tomorrow),” he said. The first thing, he said, is nerves. “This can be a big, scary place at times,” he said. It was almost a chamber of horrors for his Knights. Breese Mater Dei watched St. Joseph-Ogden erase an 18-11 deficit in Game 2, the...

Belleville Althoff defeated Normal U-High and lost to Sterling in a triangular Saturday in Normal which saw all three teams finish the day 1-1. Normal I-High beat Sterling. Sterling beat Belleville Althoff. Belleville Althoff beat Normal U-High. Everybody goes home happy … sort of. Sterling, Belleville Althoff and Normal U-High got together Saturday in Normal to iron out a few rough edges before the IHSA tournament gets underway Monday. All three teams walked away 1-1, but winning and losing was secondary. Sterling “never got off the bus,” ...

Libertyville's Jack Stevens led the Wildcats to three consecutive regional championships. (Photos courtesy of Chicago Tribune) 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 continued to represent themselves and Illinois volleyball on the national and international stage. High School boys ha...

Neuqua Valley defeated Downers Grove North 25-27, 25-23, 25-22, to win the Plainfield South tournament. As a 6-foot freshman last fall, Gwen Wolkow played second fiddle to Margaret Mahlke and Jade Casper as Downers Grove North reached the Class 4A championship game.Now, still only a sophomore, Wolkow is not only the string section, she is the woodwinds, brass and percussion. Saturday in the championship match of the Plainfield South tournament, Wolkow collected 25 kills, including 11 kills and 2 aces as the Trojans rallied from a 15-12 defi...

The nucleus of Sky High Adidas 18 Black has been together since they were 12-year-olds. They are trying to make their final season together one to remember. https://youtu.be/5mT8j2vTEaM “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – Winnie the Pooh.Sky High Adidas 18 Black’s Camryn Hausler and Taylor Jakubowski have been teammates at the Crystal Lake Club for the better part of nine years. Maddie Blake, Josie Schmitendorf, Hausler and Jakubowski have been together for almost eight.But come May 4 – the day afte...

Naperville Central celebrates its Class 4A regional championship Thursday at Neuqua Valley. (Photos by Dave Ruggle) Naperville Central felt right at home playing on the road in a Class 4A regional championship match Thursday.After all, on the road is where the Redhawks have played 32 of their 37 matches this season.“If we just keep working hard, we’re good no matter where we go,” said Naperville Central outside hitter Madeline Bylak.Bylak had 10 kills, 3 digs and a block, and Kayla Closset had 10 kills, 10 digs and 2 aces as Naperville Cent...

Mike Layne was named the new head coach at Pinckneyville in late July after more than 20 years as head coach at Murphysboro. Mike Layne took a year off from coaching to watch daughter Stephanie play at Judson University in Elgin. Mike Layne is trading in his Crimson/Corn polo for Columbia Blue.Layne, who won nearly 1,000 matches as head coach of the Murphysboro high school and middle school girls’ volleyball programs, was recently hired at Pinckneyville High School to be the Lady Panthers’ next head coach.Layne succeeds Cathy Kohnen, wh...

1st Alliance 18 Silver setter Elizabeth Sandt (37), one of only four team members who have experience playing with each other, likes the direction the team is going. https://youtu.be/SFjT9Wnvbjo Elizabeth Sandt saw only a few familiar faces when 1st Alliance 18 Silver got together for its first practice two months ago.“The team is pretty new this year,” said Sandt, a product of Nazareth Academy who guided the Roadrunners to a third-place finish in IHSA Class 3A last fall following the first-ever semifinal appearance in school history.“...

Homewood-Flossmoor avenged a regional semifinal loss to Shepard in 2018 by defeating the Astros Thursday in Flossmoor. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comAllison Faoro was born in 2002.That was the last time that Homewood-Flossmoor won a regional championship. Until Thursday night.Faoro finagled a match-high 9 kills and added 5 digs as the host Vikings defeated Shepard, 25-16, 25-20, in the title match of the Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Regional. Homewood-Flossmoor (30-6) will face Andrew Monday in the second semifinal of the ...