Club 1 Volleyball Club out of Plainfield, Illinois, sent its four top teams to compete in the 19 Nike President’s Day Classic in St. Louis, Missouri, last weekend. Club 1 17 Skronkstrong (pictured above) finished first in the 17 Premier division, Club 1 16 Skronkstrong took third in the 16 Premier division, Club 1 18 Skronkstrong placed fifth in the 18 Club division and Club 1 15 Skronkstrong took ninth place in the 15 Club division. The President’s Day tournaments are in the books, and the power leagues are ready to resume...
18/17 Club division takes center stage at President’s Day tournament
Photos by Dave Ruggles Balance 18’s was a little off kilter early Saturday morning in its President’s Day 18/17 Club division tournament opener at the Schaumburg Convention Center. “This is only our second tournament together,” said Balance 18’s libero Mia Roffolo from Barrington. “This is a fairly new team. There are only three returning players from last year, so I think we’re still clicking together. “We started off a little slow, but I think we made up for it pretty fast and we came back stronger,” said the University of Connecticu...
SPVB 16 Elite wins B16-Palos Point Series, sets sights on USAV nationals
Hitmen 16 Elite defeated Serve City 16 National Sunday to finish second overall in the B16-Palos Point Series. Don’t stop now boys. SPVB 16 Elite defeated MVC 16-Jon, 22-25, 25-11, 15-9, in the championship match of Bracket AA of the B16-Palos Point Series #4 Sunday at Palos Courts in Palos Heights to wrap up the overall series title. But it’s just one step in what SPVB 16 Elite hopes will be an appearance atop the final standings at the USA Boys Junior National Championships, June 30-July 7, in Dallas, Texas. “We have milestone...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com girls high school rankings, Pt. III
Here is the third installment of the 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Illinois girls high school volleyball rankings, which features teams ranked Nos. 16-20. The rankings include teams from Classes 1A-4A. Coming Friday: teams ranked No. 11-15. 16. Mt. Zion (35-5) – The Braves return their top five players from a team that lost 25=20, 25-21 to eventual state champion Belleville Althoff in a Class 3A supersectional, including 5-9 junior outside hitter Karlee McAtee (287 kills, 20 blocks, 327 digs), 6-1 senior middle hitte...
SPVB stops Ultimate run as B16-Palos Point Series #4 heads into final day
Serve City 16 National (above) finished fourth in Bracket A Saturday at the B16-Palos Courts Points Series #4. Ultimate B16 Gold knocked off No. 2 Hitmen 16 Elite and No. 3 Serve City 16 National, and No. 4 Bounce 16 Red leapfrogged Serve City by winning the third-place match, but SPVB 16 Elite remained the top dog after the penultimate day of the B16-Palos Points Series #4 Saturday in Palos Heights. Ultimate B16 Gold, seeded No. 7 in Bracket A on Saturday, defeated Hitmen 16 Elite, 25-18, 25-19, and Serve City 16 National, 25-17,...
Big-time, small-school talent on display at Great Lakes Power League
Photos by Dave Ruggles To paraphrase Jack Black’s character Carl Denham in the movie “King Kong,” tiny Durand High School’s 5-foot-7 outside hitter McKenzie Damon “has always been queen of her world.” However, Damon, who played at Club Fusion in Marengo for four years then spent one year with Big Dog Volleyball Club out of Durand in northwestern Illinois, is experiencing a different world of volleyball while playing for VC United Volleyball Club out of Rockford. Sunday during the Great Lakes Power League Division I in Aurora, Damon wen...
Odds & ends: Sky High stars motivated; Staunton, Jablonski still shopping
Photos by Dave Ruggles Sky High Adidas 17 Black pulled off the ultimate Houdini act Sunday at the Windy City Power League. One day after “disappearing” in a 25-17, 17-25, 25-16 loss to Wildcats Jrs. 18 Black, in Round 2 of the Windy City Power League 17-18 Open division, Sky High "re-emerged" to beat Michio Chicago 18 National, 25-16, 25-20, Adversity G16 Adidas, 25-18, 25-18, and 1st Alliance 18 Silver, 25-17, 25-18, at Velocity Volleyball Club in Mokena. “Honestly, all of the girls on our team work incredibly hard,” said Sky High Adida...
Lemont handles Evergreen Park, sets sights on Richards
Lemont’s Ella Pelen, Amanda Rice and Mary Kate Arundel. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comEverything is coming up aces for a young Lemont squad.The Indians served 8 aces and cruised to a 25-12, 25-18 victory over the host Mustangs in a South Suburban Conference clash Thursday in Evergreen Park.The win kept Lemont (6-4 overall, 3-0 in the South Suburban Conference), which has no seniors on the team, undefeated in conference play heading into Tuesday's home showdown with Richards. Last year, Richards beat ...
The Latest 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com Boys Club Rankings
Photos by Dave Ruggles The Palos Point Series #4 is complete, and most teams are gearing up for the Gateway Boys Bid Classic in St. Louis later this month before disbanding for the high school season. Here’s a look at the latest boys’ club rankings: Boys Club Rankings (previous ranking in parenthesis) 18s 1. Ultimate B18 Gold (1) You can’t win them all. After beating SPVB 18 Elite, 25-20, 25-16, in its Bracket A finale and Hitman 18 Elite twice – 15-6 in the third set the second time around in the semifinals of Bracket AA – Ultimat...
1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com girls high school rankings, Pt. II
Here is the second installment of the 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Illinois girls high school volleyball rankings, which features teams ranked Nos. 21-25. The rankings include teams from Classes 1A-4A. Coming Thursday: teams ranked No. 16-20.21. Norris City-Omaha-Enfield (29-4) – Six-foot senior middle blocker Halle Everett, the school’s all-time kill leader, and 5-10 junior middle blocker and third-year starter Emilee Bishop were members of the NCOE team that went 28-8 and finished fourth in Class 1A in 2016. They’d like...