Former Wheaton Warrenville South and Illinois men's club volleyball setter Doug Burchett recently shared some of his knowledge with middle school and high school players at 630 Volleyball Club in Darien. Doug Burchett led Wheaton Warrenville South to two of its record seven state boys' volleyball titles. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.comDoug Burchett believes someone will break his Illinois’ high school all-time assist record. But it likely won't happen anytime soon.“There's a lot of really solid setters out there,” said Burchett, whos...
Lincoln-Way East Invitational provides more than a few surprises
Glenbard West's Gavin Swartz (shown here playing for Ultimate B18 Gold at the Winter Volleyball Championships), had 9 kills in the championship match of the Lincoln-Way East Invitational. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Glenbard West outside hitter Ryan Swartz. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWhere there's a Wil, there's a way.Led by outstanding efforts from Trevor Lewis and tournament MVP Wil McPhillips, Lincoln-Way East rallied to defeat No. 2 Glenbard West, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10, to win the title of its own invi...
UNO, JCA teammates express optimism about club and high school seasons
Volleyball clubs around the state were among the victims of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's latest executive order related to the pandemic, but many girls remain optimistic that they will be able to play sometime in the new year, if not sooner. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWith the COVID-19 pandemic setting record numbers in recent days, all of them in the wrong direction, there remains uncertainty over the upcoming club and high school seasons.That uncertainty was further amplified when Illinois Gov. J.B....
Montini, Marciniak stop Fenwick for a third time; Kleffman sparks Tinley Park
The Chicago Public School teachers' strike has added more uncertainty to Fenwick's tournament future Montini enters the IHSA Class 2A tournament next week as one of the favorites to reach Redbird Arena on November 15. Meanwhile, Fenwick’s future in the Class 3A tournament is a bit muddled. The Broncos and Friars met for the fourth time this season Thursday in Lombard. Senior outside hitter Julia Marciniak and sophomores Madalyn Kasallis and Paige Pickering each contributed 12 kills as Montini won, 25-21, 24-26, 25-10, to take the season ser...
Krasowski really digs what Sandburg’s doing as the Eagles win at Joliet Catholic
Sandburg extended its season-opening winning streak to 10 with a straight-set win Thursday at Joliet Catholic. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThe smallest girl on the court continues to make a big impact.Rachel Krasowski is listed at 5-foot-3. But the Sandburg senior libero, who is a four-year varsity player, admits that she's not quite that tall.“I'm happy I'm listed as that, and I will take it,” Krasowski said. “But I'm probably 5-foot-2.” Five-foot-2 or 5-foot-3, Krasowski’s steady defensive influence is ...
Rivalry week: Marist outlasts McAuley; Central wins battle of Napervilles
Naperville Central won the first battle of Naperville on Thursday, defeating rival North in wild three-setter at Naperville North. Nikki Jones had 27 assists for Marist Thursday at Mother McAuley. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Marist might have been the visiting team, but the RedHawks were going to feed off the energy in the gym.The two-time defending IHSA Class 4A champions overcame a big first-set deficit and rallied for a 26-24, 25-22 win over host Mother McAuley.The neighborhood feud not only featu...
Trippi-Payne announces retirement after loss to Waubonsie; West Aurora advances
Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne gathers with her team for one of the last times before announcing her retirement following Tuesday's loss to Waubonsie Valley. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Two Batavia players collide going to a ball during Tuesday's loss to Waubonsie Valley. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) After 33 years of coaching and more than 535 wins, Batavia’s Lori Trippi-Payne announced her retirement following Tuesday’s 25-12, 25-10 loss to Waubonsie Valley in a Class 4A regional semifinal at Waubonsie Valley.“I could have retired after las...
Here are the latest 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Girls 15 Club Rankings
ESVBC Elite 15U Ice (Eastside Volleyball Club, East Peoria) joins the rankings after winning the Midwest Challenge at Academy Volleyball Club in Indianapolis on January 30-31. This is the last installment of Illprepvb.com’s latest look at some of the top clubs in Illinois in their respective age groups.Like we said back in December, the 15s are always the most difficult to predict for a number of reasons. This season, that uncertainty was magnified partly because many 14s experienced a shortened competitive season in 2020, and in some...
Which boys' high school teams will be among Illinois’ best in 2020?
Many athletes, coaches and fans are holding out hope that some of the 2020 boys high school volleyball season can be salvaged and scenes like this one be repeated. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Updated 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, April 1 Two weeks on the shelf (and more ahead), but here and elsewhere we’re still hoping that there will be a boys’ high school volleyball season, even a substantially abbreviated one. After Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzer announced Tuesday that schools would remain closed through April 30, the IHSA released a statement...
Marist unveils its better side while silencing the field at the Tiger Classic
Tournament MVP Kamryn Chaney (23) helped Marist avenge two earlier losses to Wheaton Warrenville South, two games she missed while nursing an injury, in the Tiger Classic semifinals. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAny similarity between this Marist team and the one that started the season losing three of its first six matches is purely coincidental.“We’re completely different,” said 6-foot middle blocker Mary Clare Brusek. “We used the Plainfield North tournament as motivation. For the next three weeks, all w...