It was a mixed bag for the Southwest Prairie Conference Thursday with Plainfield East (above) losing at Lockport while Plainfield Central (video below) broke into the win column at home against Nazareth Academy. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/NX0pSY33w4A By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorPlainfield Central’s Logan Gieseke has been around the block a few times.The 6-foot-4 outside hitter was elevated to the varsity two games into his freshman year to play middle hitter. He was slated to start his sophomore year, but the se...

Parker Moorhead (12) and the Glenbard West Hilltoppers open the 2022 season as the No. 1 team in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Boys High School Rankings. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNormalcy?What is that?All you must do to get some semblance of the discombobulation that was the 2021 boys high school season is look at the past records of some of the teams ranked in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Preseason Top 25. Some played 39 matches (Glenbard West), others played as few as 16 (St. Ignatius...

Ben Rosenow had 5 kills and 3 aces in Oswego's win over Plainfield North on Thursday in Oswego. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorOswego had a three-pronged game plan following its tough 17-25, 25-18, 25-16 loss Tuesday to Plainfield East, the Panthers’ first in Southwest Prairie Conference play.Part I: Fix what was broken.“We worked on what we needed to work on in practice (Wednesday),” said Oswego’s 6-foot libero Alex Rosenow.Part II: Talk about how you respond following a loss, and stick to it.“We want to win c...

Maureen Pokryfke (right) was second on West Aurora's varsity team in kills and blocks last fall and is currently playing for Fusion 15 Red. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we rank the top players in the Class of 2025. The list is headed by 6-3 outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (Timothy Christian), who has powered 1st Alliance 15 Gold to a 16-3 record in the Windy City Power League, and 5-8 Aniya Warren, who is carrying on the tradition of great liberos at Benet Academy. The list also includes two downstate Illinois freshmen who showca...

Kaylee Sharkey (80) and SPVB 18 Kahl stayed perfect in the 2022 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center on Saturday by outlasting Xcel 18 Elite (Hendersonville, North Carolina), 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/FFy6ZN1HQ8o By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhen you grow up playing volleyball in Fairfield, Illinois, you really only have two choices if you plan to play club – St. Louis, Missouri, slightly more than 120 miles to the west, or Evansville, Indiana, sl...

Plainfield North (above) led 20-14 in the second set against visiting Lincoln-Way East Tuesday, but watched the visitors close on an 11-2 run to earn a 25-20, 25-22 sweep. https://youtu.be/T4kyIkF0JAc By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTyler Walenga wasn’t worried.“I knew something was coming,” he said.Neither was Jared Byas.“No matter what, we’re not going to give up,” he said. “We just keep fighting.”Even coach Kris Fiore believed.“One of the greatest attributes of our kids is that you didn't see fear in their eyes at all,” he said...

Metea Valley's Bartosz Chmielewski (6) had 6 kills against visiting Benet Academy on Wednesday, but the Redwings defeated the Mustangs, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comBenet right side Dominic Krzeczkowski began Wednesday’s match against host Metea Valley with a blistering kill.An hour later, he ended it with another one.In between, well, the Redwings had to dig deep to put an end to Metea’s five-game winning streak. Krzeczkowski, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, led all players with 12 kills, but B...