(Photo by Dave Ruggles) Rumors of Lincoln-Way East’s demise were greatly exaggerated. The defending IHSA tournament champions, who got off to a slow start this season after losing 10 seniors from last year’s titlist, defeated District 210 rival Lincoln-Way West and Glenbard West to win its own invitational Saturday. Ball State recruit Wil McPhillips was named tournament MVP. Next up: the Northside Classic hosted by Glenbrook North and New Trier. Here are the top 25 teams heading into Week Seven. (previous ranking in parenthe...
Maine West building on record season; Lake Park regional streak at 11, and more
Josh Schellinger (11), Luke Nelson (5) and Andrew Deardorff (14) all return for perennial contender Lake Park, which has won 11 consecutive regional titles. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2020 boys' high school volleyball season with another set of team previews. Illprepvb.com provides the best in boys volleyball coverage throughout the season anywhere in the state. School: Lake ParkConference: DuKaneHead coach: Brian FischerLast season’s highlights: 25-12 overall, 4-2 in conference, finis...
Way-too-early look at some of the best girls’ volleyball players in Classes 1A-4A
There are hundreds of extremely talented girls' volleyball players in Illinois, but here is a place to start when listing some of the best of the best. More food for thought...The 2019 Illinois high school girls volleyball season doesn’t officially kick off until the first day of practice on August 12, but it’s never too early to list some of the best players in each class. Here is an early look at some of the best girls in Classes 1A-4A who you should hear -- and read -- a lot about this season. Plainfield Central's Taylor Landfair. ...
LaSalle-Peru’s Haberkorn chasing history, Olson chasing elusive super berth
LaSalle-Peru has been one of the state's best Class 3A volleyball programs during Mark Haberkorn's 29 years at the helm and looks to continue that success in 2019. LaSalle-Peru's (from left) Kamryn Olson, Anna Quesse and Arika Richardson. A few years ago, someone asked LaSalle-Peru’s Mark Haberkorn when he was going to retire from coaching. Now they ask him if he’s going to stick around until he picks up win No. 1,000. “It’s funny,” he said. “You win 900, and all of a sudden the conversation switches.” Haberkorn, 68, who retired from tea...
High school, club, or both? The IHSA board is expected to decide Monday
Girls may have to choose between playing high school or club volleyball this spring if the IHSA Board of Directors upholds current eligibility restrictions. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The IHSA Board of Directors is expected to decide at its Monday, August 24 meeting whether to allow student-athletes to compete for their high school teams while simultaneously participating in club and travel sports.Current IHSA eligibility rules state that students who choose to participate in non-school sports during a sport season will not be eligible to ...
While we're waiting … here's a sneak peek at some of the top 15s girls' club teams
Springfield Shock 15 Under Armour head coach Bruce Wible said this group has a chance to be “really special.” This is the final installment of Illprepvb.com’s look at some of the top clubs in Illinois in their respective age groups. The 15s are always the most difficult to predict for a variety of reasons. This season, that uncertainty is magnified partly because most 14s experienced a shortened competitive season in 2020, and in some cases, no season at all.However, there are some things we can say for certain.Year in and year out,...
There’s a little ‘Silver’ lining for Oak Park-River Forest in loss at Glenbard West
Oak Park-River Forest could meet Glenbard West again in the IHSA tournament finals. https://youtu.be/PZoZLYn0xdM Oak Park-River Forest won’t see West Suburban Conference rival Glenbard West again during the regular season, and if the two teams do meet again, it would be in the IHSA championship game. So what would Oak Park do differently the second time around? “We have to have more mental toughness,” said Oak Park-River Forest’s 6-foot-6 senior setter and Purdue University Fort Wayne recruit Sean Califf. “You’re going to get dow...
‘Who are we?’ Benet answers by beating previously perfect Mother McAuley
Mother McAuley's Abby Sarich skies to put down one of her 6 kills Wednesday, but it wasn't enough as Benet defeated the Mighty Macs in three sets Wednesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). https://youtu.be/LaIbtA-oNu8 Benet coach Brad Baker took a timeout with his team down a set and trailing 16-12 in the second Wednesday against visiting Mother McAuley.He called it a "Who are we?" moment.“When coach called a timeout, we just kind of regrouped,” said Benet setter Rachel Muisenga. “We were like, ‘C’mon, this is our home gym. We know we can g...
Winners, losers in this week’s Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com rankings
Mother McAuley (far court) has recovered from an 0-4 start and re-entered the rankings after finishing third at the Asics Challenge. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The jockeying for position is over. The IHSA tournament just a mere three weeks away and sectional seeds are scheduled to be posted Thursday. A few years ago, the IHSA adopted an online seeding system, which denied coaches the opportunity to state their cases in an open forum. Many coaches have expressed a desire to return to face-to-face seeding meetings, at least where geog...
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...