Glenbard East's 6-4 junior rightside Danny Overlin (18) sat out Wednesday's loss at St. Francis after suffering a severe ankle sprain in a recent match against Naperville Central. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhat drives St. Francis?Intensity, said 6-2 junior libero JT McCormick.“Intensity has always driven us,” McCormick said. “Whenever we’re up, whenever we’re loud, we tend to score the points that are necessary to win. When our intensity is up, so is our play.”Togetherness, said 6-5 junior setter Kyle Zedi...
Illprepvb’s Class 3A No. 2 Normal U-High sidesteps Class 2A No. 7 Breese Mater Dei
Breese Mater Dei's 6-foot-5 Alyssa Koerkenmeier (24) battled Normal University High's Rachel Ogunleye (9) and Isabella McKinney (2) at the net in Normal on Saturday. U-High went on to win, 25-19, 25-22. (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – Given the chance for a “do-over,” Breese Mater Dei coach Chad Rakers would have transported his team – which lost to Normal University High, 25-19, 25-22, on Saturday – back in time at least 18 hours.“I’d have driven up here last night and stayed in a hotel,” said Ra...
Presenting SPVB/Illprepvb.com’s list of the top 100 boys club players in Illinois
Ultimate VBC's Tyler Tharpe (Whitney Young) has only been playing volleyball for three years, but has been so impressive that he will be continuing his athletic and academic ccareer at Ohio State. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe top club teams from Illinois and throughout the United States will soon fly south to compete in the 2023 AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball Championships at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orange County, Florida, Saturday-Tuesday, July 1-4.We have compiled a list of th...
Lake Park sneaks past South Elgin in postseason warm-up for the two league champs
Lake Park finished the regular season with a 29-27, 27-25 victory over South Elgin on Wednesday. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s never too late to learn a valuable volleyball lesson.Lesson No. 1? Don’t ever give up.“The momentum we've had coming out of the last few games of the regular season, we just need to bring that into regionals,” said Lake Park’s 6-5 sophomore middle hitter Carter Gibbons. “We need to come out fighting, especially on our home court.”Lesson No. 2? Finish what you start.“We were in control in both games, but...
Timothy Christian’s Vander Wal has another championship on her bucket list
Hope Huizenga (6) had 5 kills as Timothy Christian defeated Chicago Christian Tuesday in Palos Heights. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comAbby Vander Wal would make any team better.The 6-foot-3-inch junior outside hitter was named the tournament MVP in helping to lead the USA Girls U19 National Team to the World Championship last month in Osijek, Croatia. As an encore, she joined the USA Girls U21 National Team at the end of August and helped the team to a sixth-place finish in the world at the finals i...
Downers South eyes another postseason run; key injury clouds Morton’s future
Morton sophomore Luisangel Cortes-Curiel (3) tries to slip a kill past the outstretched arms of Downers Grove South's Mason Kolar (5) and Nick Koch (15). (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“Our sectional,” said Downers Grove South coach Kurt Steuer. “Our sectional … ““It’s tough anywhere,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re seeded. But it is what it is. You got to go out and play.”Downers Grove South’s 25-12, 25-16 victory over Morton on Tuesday was almost inconsequential in the bigger picture, although So...
Reavis closes in on SSC Red title; OPRF rally leaves Downers North feeling sick
Downers Grove North's Theo Pawlik (6) had 16 kills, but Oak Park-River Forest rallied to defeat the Trojans in three sets Tuesday in Downers Grove. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) At ReavisFor Reavis, the prospect of winning the Red Division of the South Suburban Conference is, well … scary.‘Trying to win the conference is terrifying,” said Reavis sophomore outside hitter Joey Walus. “Every team wants to beat us, but we're not going to allow it.”True to his word, Walus smashed the match-winning kill as Reavis held off visiting Richards, 25-19...
From ‘Oh, it’s just Westville,’ to ‘Oh, no! It’s Westville!’
The Westville Tigers started the season with a bang, winning their own tournament without dropping a set. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThere is a lot of joy in Westville these days.More may be on the way if Ella Miller and her teammates have their way.The Tigers, 11-0 following Thursday's 25-14, 25-16 victory over Vermilion Valley foe Hoopeston, are off to the fastest start in program history and are creating a buzz around Westville, a town of 3,120 just south of Danville and close to the Indiana state line.“It’s really exciting ...
Lockport’s young guns stun Lincoln-Way East: Lyons, Levinson stop Glenbard East
Lyons Township defeated Glenbard East on Thursday to win the regional at Naperville Central. https://youtu.be/IlDZBeCjmGY At LockportIt’s not next year. The time is now for the Lockport boys' volleyball team.Without a single senior starter, many pundits thought the Porters were a year away from making a big playoff push. Instead, they went out and rallied for a 19-25, 25-20, 25-21 win over top-seed Lincoln-Way East in Thursday’s title match of the Lockport Regional.After winning just three regional titles between 1993 and 2017, Lockpo...
Normal U-High strongarms Rochester in early Central State Eight showdown
Normal University High sophomore Levyn Snow (5) helped her No. 2-state ranked team down No. 10 Rochester, 25-21, 25-17, on Thursday at Normal. Attempting to block were Rochester's Grace Jameson (11) and Charlotte Beatty (12). (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – In general, Rochester’s volleyball team knew where trouble was going to come from on Thursday.Knowing specifically where to place blockers and passers, however, against a team with as many weapons as Normal University High proved problematic as...