Kloe Froebe (5) blasted 10 kills for No. 6 Lincoln during a 25-11, 25-13 victory at Bloomington on Thursday. (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comBLOOMINGTON – Lincoln’s remarkable rebuild continued unabated during a 25-11, 25-13 victory over Bloomington in a nonconference match at the Robert Frank Sports Complex on Thursday.The regular season finale left the Railsplitters, ranked No. 6 in Class 3A by Illprepvb.com, with a 28-6 record and an increasingly foggy memory of their recent struggles.Between 2018 to...
Nazareth reaches second consecutive Class 3A title game, will face St. Francis
St. Francis' Emily Risley tries to get around the block of a pair of Taylorville defenders during Friday's Class 3A semifinal. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – Not many high school athletes get to play for a state championship. Olivia Austin will play for her third in a year's time. Austin, a junior middle/opposite side hitter, had 6 kills in helping Nazareth to advance to the championship title match for the second straight season with a 25-19, 25-13 victory over Taylorville in the second...
Lauterwasser's to-do list gets shorter after Naperville North stuns Benet Academy
Benet's Kirsten Krammer tries to get around the block of Naperville North's Paige Lauterwasser during the championship match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup tournnament Saturday at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe bucket list just got a little shorter.Paige Lauterwasser’s four years on varsity included zero wins against Benet Academy and zero Scholastic Cup tournament championships … until Saturday, that is.Lauterwasser had 12 kills and a block to lead Na...
Time to switch gears … here is our first look at Illinois' top boys' club 18s teams
SPVB 18 Lenny finished third in the 18 Premier division at the AAU/JVA Chi-Town Boys Challenge on November 19-21. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhile we were sleeping … While the Illinois high school girls were completing their run to the IHSA finals in Normal, boys’ club teams throughout the state began in earnest. So, it’s time to play a little catch-up.Today, we start with a look at the top 18s teams in Illinois. All but Blue Steel – which competes in the HPSTL Ladder Series in St. Louis -- have completed three of four se...
1st Alliance 16 Gold tired of taking the fifth; Ritterbusch, Sky High 16s stay perfect
MOD Elite G16 Blue's Mary Hamann of Rolling Meadows slams a kill against Ultimate Asics G15 Gold during the Windy City Power League 16/15 Open seeding event Sunday at the 1st Alliance Training Center in Darien. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhile finishing fifth at the USAV Girls Junior Nationals Championship once would be cause for celebration for many clubs, it’s getting to be old hat for Abby Vander Wal and her 1st Alliance 16 Gold teammates.As in old and wearisome.After losing in the quarterfinals as 13s,...
McAuley's Moonans celebrate final home game with big win over Lyons Township
Kamryn Lee-Caracci had 5 kills for Lyons Township at Mother McAuley on Wednesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMother McAuley honored its seniors Wednesday, and the Mighty Macs sent them out in style.In a possible sectional championship preview, McAuley made short work of visiting Lyons, 25-16, 25-16.Junior Ellie White led the way with 9 kills, 16 digs and a block, while middle blocker Maeve Moonan made sure her final home match was a good one with 6 kills and 4 blocks.“I was excited,” Moonan. “I was a li...
Presenting this week's 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Girls H.S. Rankings
Paige Lauterwasser (right) and Naperville North crashed the 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Class 4A rankings at No. 4 this week. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Getting to the top is sometimes easier than staying there.Benet Academy’s 6-3 junior outside hitter Ava Novak said it best Saturday.“When you’re winning a lot, sometimes you don’t come out as strong because you just expect to play great,” she said after the Redwings were stifled by Naperville North, 25-22, 25-20, in the championship game of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the Gre...
Barrington stops Macs, OPRF at Autumnfest; Naperville is best North at Central
Paige Lauterwasser had 16 kills to lead Naperville North to its second tournament title in two weeks Saturday at Blocktober Fest hosted by Plainfield Central and sponsored by Illprepvb.com. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) At Glenbard EastEmotional power outage?“I think there was a little hangover,” said Barrington junior setter/opposite Jenna Meitzler. “It (Barrington’s semifinal win) was a great high for us.”After beating top-seeded Mother McAuley, 25-20, 10-25, 25-20, in a Gold bracket semifinal, Barrington sputtered at the onset of both sets in ...
Kaneland bounces back in a big way, beats Morris in Interstate Eight showdown
Kaneland celebrated its second victory over Morris this season with a large contingent of student supporters Thursday. Morris hopes to get middle hitter Hanna Lauterbach (far left) back in time for the IHSA tournament. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorGone from last year’s 34-4 sectional finalist are Madison Buckley (Ball State) and Meghan O’Sullivan (Grand Valley State).Gone, too, are Bella Rio (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) and libero Mackenzie Ewen (California Polytechnic State University).Mia Kane, a junior setter on last ye...
Miscues foil Limestone's plans for an upset as No. 2-ranked Metamora romps
No. 2-ranked Metamora received 7 kills from Esma Frieden (8) during a 25-14, 25-18 win over visiting Bartonville Limestone on Tuesday. On the home page, Bartonville Limestone setter Alayna Rudebeck (2) found herself in a joust against Metamora's Sophie Fletcher. (Photos by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comMETAMORA – What was slated to be a barnburner got washed away by uncharacteristic unforced errors from Bartonville Limestone in a matchup of Mid-Illini Conference co-leaders on Tuesday.Few opponents of Metamora, rank...