Megan Williams and Newark, who rate as heavy favorites to repeat as IHSA Class 1A champions, are getting ready for the regular season at the UNO Summer League. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Newark's Madi Malone is expected to be at full strength when the regular season begins August 26. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Two girls’ volleyball programs that have experienced a lot of recent success were on the court together Wednesday at the UNO Volleyball Center in Joliet. Although neither Minooka nor Newark were at full stre...
Hersey routs defending league champ Barrington to wear the 2019 MSL crown
Hersey avenged two earlier losses to Barrington to win the Mid-Suburban League championship Wednesday in Arlington Heights. Junior outside hitter Ben Ridgway was the lone bright spot for Barrington Wednesday at Hersey. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Hersey setter Jakub Migus said his team was overthinking too much earlier in the season, particularly on defense.Now the Huskies can think of themselves as Mid-Suburban League champions.Migus had 22 assists, 2 kills and a block, junior outside hitter Tim Nugent had 9 kills, and No. 23 Hersey (27-7 o...
Lincoln-Way West keeps title hopes alive by pulling inside job on Lincoln-Way East
Lincoln-Way West broke a 1-1 tie in this season's series with rival Lincoln-Way East with its win Tuesday, but more importantly, the Warriors kept their Southwest Suburban Conference title hopes alive. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Lincoln-Way West libero Tyler Vedder. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Dargan dominated the middle. Running the game plan to perfection, Chris Dargan had 9 kills and 3 blocks and fellow middle hitter Shane Wegrzyn added 6 kills as host Lincoln-Way West moved a step closer to earning at least a sh...
Massac County, Montini drop down, look up; will Spartans surprise again?
Massac County and Montini are two teams dropping down from Class 3A to 2A for the 2019 and 2020 seasons thanks to the IHSA's new enrollment reclassification policy. School: BarringtonConference: Mid-Suburban WestHead coach: Michelle Jakubowski Last season’s highlights: 24-12 overall, 9-1 in conference, defeated Buffalo Grove, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, to win Mid-Suburban League championship, lost to Cary-Grove, 25-20, 25-16, in Class 4A regional semifinal.Top returnees: 5-11 senior middle blocker Noelle Daehler, 5-3 seni...
Pluskota, No. 4 Lincoln-Way West win first round against No. 2 Minooka
Louden Moran (far left) had 5 kills Monday to help Lincoln-Way West defeat Minooka. (photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com It’s only the second week of April, but Monday's match-up between No. 2 Minooka and No. 4 Lincoln-Way West could have implications for the end of May. The two teams figure to be the top seeds in the local sub-sectional as part of the Belleville East sectional. A lot can happen between now and then, but at the moment, it's Lincoln-Way West with the upper hand as Ben Pluskota led a...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week Six Girls Rankings
NIC-10 powerhouse Belvidere North doesn't figure to be challenged until the state tournament. 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week SixGirls Rankings(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)1. Marist (1) 24-1Assumption ends RedHawks’ win streak at 56. 2. Sterling (2) 22-0Warriors have no trouble with rival Cavaliers. 3. Benet (3) 16-4Six-foot freshman Annie Remmes bolsters middle.4. Sandburg (7) 22-4Eagles finish third at prestigious ASICS Challenge.5. Marian Catholic (4) 20-5Falls to Sandburg, finishes fourth at ASICS Challenge....
Lincoln-Way East, Sandburg looking beyond Velocity Summer League title tilt
Lincoln-Way East and Sandburg, which met for the Velocity Summer League title Thursday, should be among the top teams in the south suburbs this fall. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThere were times at the end of last season that Lincoln-Way East had five sophomores on the floor.The Griffins took some lumps with the youth movement, finishing the season 18-19. It was their first losing record since 2009 and the first losing season for coach Kris Fiore. But if its performance during the summer is any indication, Lincoln-Way East won't ...
Whitney Young learns from former Olympian, but No. 1 Marist still schools Dolphins
Whitney Young’s (left to right) Chelsea Thorpe, Jordan Quinones, Anya Korbut, Bianca Hernandez and Perry Lucas with head coach Keba Phipps. By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com As a two-time Olympian, Keba Phipps knows something about playing with the best and playing against the best. Now the head volleyball coach at Whitney Young, Phipps took her team to play the best in the state on Thursday when the Dolphins traveled to Marist. There, the host RedHawks continued to do what they have all season and cruised to a 25-19, 25...
The IHSA lays an egg – again – with its “rolling of the peas”
Too often, just being great isn't good enough to reach the IHSA finals. (photo by Dave Ruggles) Instead of rolling a pea, the IHSA laid an egg.In case you missed it, the IHSA released the results of its Spring Bracket Drawing last week, the blind drawing the folks down in Bloomington like to refer as the “rolling of the peas.”If you’re a boys’ volleyball fan of top-ranked Glenbard West, you have to be thrilled by the outcome. Although Glenbard East was assigned to the same sectional – at Fremd – all that really stands between the Hilltopper...
Bolingbrook moves on without Mitchem, and we look at 18 other schools
Bolingbrook set a school record with 24 wins last fall, but star 6-foot-2 outside hitter Natalie Mitchem is now attending Ball State, and the Raiders must carry on without her. Illprepvb.com begins its coverage of the 2019 Illinois girls high school season with the first set of previews. School: Bloomington Central Catholic Conference: Illini PrairieHead coach: Teresa UlrichLast season’s highlights: 21-15 overall, 5-4 in conference (fourth place), finished third at Saints Fall Classic, fifth at Sterling invi...