Maine West's junior libero Aidan Vega digs a ball under the watchful eyes of teammate Ronan Cusack (8) Saturday at the Geneva Invitational. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comGlenbard West’s players enjoyed competing at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational on Saturday.You could even say they dug it. The Hilltoppers rode some great defensive play plus the hitting and serving of tournament MVP Charlie Clifford to a see-saw 24-26, 25-8, 25-20 victory over host Lincoln-Way East in the championship match.Even Lin...
Downers Grove North’s Aiden Akkawi is the Ultimate/Illprepvb Player of the Week
Downers Grove North's Aiden Akkawi led the Trojans to the championship of the Downers Grove South Richard Griesheim Invitational with 13 kills in the title match against Oak Park-River Forest. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorEach week during the volleyball season, we announce an Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week. Coaches throughout Illinois are invited to nominate a player for their outstanding performance on and off the court.This week, the Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week is Do...
Glenbard West lies down for no one, tops Oak Park-River Forest at Northside Classic
Glenbard West celebrated its victory over Oak Oak-River Forest by lying down in a circle on the Glenbrook North court with their feet facing toward each other. https://youtu.be/ovDweBeWGaM By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhat’s the old adage? Familiarity breeds contempt?But in this case, familiarity bred respect.“We talked before the game,” said Glenbard West’s 6-0 setter Owen Bare. “We knew them. We knew the last time we played them, they came back super strong in the second set. So, we were ready for that.“We came together a...
Caught in a bad (b)romance, Homewood-Flossmoor gets stagnant against Stagg
Homewood-Flossmoor dropped a tough Southwest Suburban Conference match Tuesday at Stagg. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt happens to every team at one time or another.You’re caught in a bad rotation and can’t get out.After a number of service errors contributed to a first-set loss, Homewood-Flossmoor opened the second set with another service error before finding itself stuck in a rotation from which it was unable to claw its way out.Stagg took advantage, building an 11-0 lead and cruising to a 25-21, 25-18 victory Tuesday in Palos H...
Glernbard West’s hard-working Charlie Clifford is the Ultimate Player of the Week
Glenbard West's Charlie Clifford (8) was an all-tournament selection at Glenbard East and the MVP at Lincoln-Way East. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorEach week during the volleyball season, we announce an Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week. Coaches throughout Illinois are invited to nominate a player for their outstanding performance on and off the court.This week, the Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week is Glenbard West’s 6-4 outside hitter Charlie Clifford.Clifford was named the MVP o...
Ever-changing Michio Chicago/Illprepvb Boys Rankings welcomes two newcomers
Maine West (far court) broke into the rankings for the first time this season after going 5-0 to win the Geneva Invitational on Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“Change is the lone constant in the universe.”That quote is widely attributed to Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who embraced the philosophical concept of impermanence which suggests that everything is in a state of flux and nothing remains the same indefinitely. He might as well have been talking about the Illinois boys high school rankin...
Bolingbrook, Lewis men’s volleyball find support from unexpected source: each other
Members of the Lewis University men's volleyball team showed their support for the Bolingbrook HIgh School boys' team at Thursday's game against Romeoville. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LQ_9FZqU54 By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAnyone who attended a Lewis University men’s volleyball home match this season might have noticed a large and vocal section of high school students wildly cheering on the Flyers.Those high school students were members of the Bolingbrook boys’ volleyball program, who “adopted” the Lewis University men’s...
Presenting the final Michio Chicago VBA /Illprepvb.com ’25 Girls 18s Club Rankings
SPVB 18 Red was the only lIllinois 18s team to win a national championship this season, claiming the 18 Club division title at The Under Armour 18U National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 12. The national championship was the 110th for Sports Performance. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Game over. (For most, but not all).The club careers of scores of Illinois girls volleyball players ended last month with the conclusion of The Under Armour 18U National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 10-12,...
‘Lost in the sauce,’ Sandburg succumbs to defensively-improving Lincoln-Way East
Lincoln-Way East improved to 4-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference with its win Tuesday at Sandburg. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLost in the sauce.That’s how Sandburg coach Madisen Babich described her team’s performance Tuesday.“They outplayed us. They outworked us. I think we were in the mindset of looking past them and not really worried about them. But how could you not ever be worried about a Lincoln-Way East?” she said.“It’s jersey to jersey,” Babich added. “It’s Sandburg versus Lincoln-Way East, no matter who's in that je...
Downers Grove North proving it belongs in the conversation, takes down rival York
Downers Grove North fetaures (from left) libero Stellan Hammond, libero Ryan Pawlik, middle hitter Dylan Quinn, middle hitter Gino Andreatta, middle hitter Quinn Leahy, outside hitter Zak Baker and outside hitter Aiden Akkawi. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s been 31 years since Downers Grove North reached the IHSA quarterfinals. Is this the year the three decades-long drought ends?Six-foot-3 outside hitter Aiden Akkawi believes it is.“We’re proving to the whole state (that we’re one of the best teams in Illinois),” he said. “...