Led by Bella Ray (14) and Jillian Gray (4), Joliet Catholic is eager to improve upon last year's third-place finish in the Class 3A tournament. (Photos by Dave Ruggles). Three state titles. Three runner-up finishes. Third-place finishes in 2006 and 2018. A fourth-place trophy in 2005. More than 560 wins during the head coach Chris Scheibe’s 19-year tenure. Joliet Catholic has been a preeminent player in IHSA girls volleyball since Allie Quigley & Co. defeated Barrington and former U.S. national volleyball team member Nellie Spicer for ...
Chicago Christian, Joliet West looking to make long tournament runs in 2019
Chicago Christian, which finished 9-2 and in third place at the UNO Summer League, hopes to return to the top of the Class 2A world in 2019. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comA decade ago, the Chicago Christian girls’ volleyball team was on top of the world.With seven seniors back from last season’s Class 2A sectional final squad, the Knights hope to get back there in 2019.Chicago Christian has certainly showed this summer that it’s capable of getting back to Redbird Arena. The Knights tuned up for the upcoming fall campaign by g...
Wren Decker, Nazareth power past York in Mother McAuley Preview final
By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Wren Decker won't be there next season when Nazareth is back at the ASICS Challenge.But the senior outside hitter was glad that she helped her team get there.Decker crushed 7 kills, including the match winner, as the Roadrunners rallied down the stretch of the second set and defeated York 25-17, 28-26 on Saturday to win the McAuley Preview Tournament.The winner of the Preview tournament automatically advances to next year’s ASICS Tournament, which is one of the top tournaments in the country. It was ...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.Com 2018 Week Five Girls Rankings
York's Jessica Levy powers home a kill during a recent match. 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week Five Girls Rankings(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)1. Marist (1) 18-0Avery Jedry putting up big numbers for No. 1. 2. Sterling (2) 17-0Big showdown Tuesday when LaSalle-Peru visits. 3. Benet (3) 15-4Senior setter Ally Van Eekeren dishes, blocks, kills, digs.4. Marian Catholic (4) 15-3‘Temi’ time too tough for Mother McAuley at Rich East5. Plainfield Central (5) 13-4Regan Trueblood knows where to turn at crunch time.6. Naza...
Sandburg, Riverside-Brookfield rule invites; Barrington speeds past New Trier
Barrington setter Kyle Vasquez dumps one over the net during the the Broncos' win over New Trier Saturday at North Central College. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThis is the time of the season a team wants to hit its stride. Sandburg certainly is.The Eagles scored the final 3 points of the match and slipped past Downers Grove North, 18-25, 25-21, 25-23, to capture the championship of the Richards Tournament on Saturday in Oak Lawn.Junior rightside hitter David Vales, who is the son of the Eagles’ coach by ...
This time, Minooka, Lewis get the better of Marist to win Tiger Classic title
AJ Lewis had 17 kills to lead Minooka past Marist for the Tiger Classic championship. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Same teams. One week later. Different result. With his team trailing 14-9 in the third set, Minooka’s 6-foot-4 outside hitter AJ Lewis sparked a 5-0 run with 3 kills and a block as the Indians rallied for an 18-25, 26-24, 25-23 victory in the championship match of the 17th annual Tiger Classic at Wheaton Warrenville South. Lewis finished with 17 kills as Minooka reversed a 25-21, 25-21 loss suffered at the hands of Mar...
Lincoln-Way West, Barrington reach Gold; St. Rita dumps No. 5 seed Arch. McCarthy
Lincoln-Way West defeated Metea Valley and Downers Grove South on Friday to advance to the Gold bracket at the 17th Annual Tiger Classic. https://youtu.be/Q-S--Hv9_vI Lincoln-Way West saw what happened to two other tops seeds Thursday at the 17th Annual Tiger Classic at Wheaton Warrenville South.The Warriors made it a point Friday not to become one of the ignominiously vanquished. “I saw couple of the other seeded teams lost,” said Lincoln-Way West’s 6-foot-4 senior rightside hitter Louden Moran. “I guess that was a good goal for us … ...
Match of the Week: Hard-working Murczek helps Richards turn back Shepard
Richards' Sarah Murczek, Lindsey Dryier, Alexa Curta, Jenna Weiland and Lauren Birmingham. From the time her uncle, former Marist standout and San Diego State assistant coach Ken Murczek, put a volleyball in her hands when she was a young girl, Richard’s 5-foot-10 outside hitter Sarah Murczek has been one of the hardest-working players in the Chicago area. “She's a special player,” said Richards coach Troy Grevengoed. “That kid has worked so hard to get where she has. She hasn't done that just by showing up. She does something ext...
Mercy? Sterling will have none of it against LaSalle-Peru
Sterling remained unbeaten Tuesday with its straight-set win over rival LaSalle-Peru. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comNo mercy.That’s what the Sterling girls volleyball team showed Tuesday against LaSalle-Peru.No. 2-ranked Sterling defeated its Northern Illinois Big Twelve Conference rival, 25-14, 25-17, in Sterling.The Borum sisters accounted for 25 kills in the win. The victory keeps Sterling (19-0, 4-0) undefeated. The Cavaliers (13-3, 2-2) fell two games behind the Golden Warriors at the midway point of the confe...
Marian Catholic doesn’t stop believing, beats Mother McAuley at Rich East
Marian Catholic rallied from a 9-point deficit in the first set to defeat Mother McAuley and win the Rich East tournament.By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com"Don't Stop Believin.'"No, the Journey song was not played at Rich East High School on Saturday evening. But if it had been, it would have been the theme song of the Marian Catholic girls’ volleyball team.Down by 9 points midway through the opening set, the Spartans charged back, saved 4 set points and rallied for a 26-24, 25-18 victory over Mother McAuley to capture the championshi...