Parker Moorhead had 10 kills in Glenbard West' loss Thursday to Lincoln-Way East in a rematch of last year's IHSA championship match. (file photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comLincoln-Way East star Tyler Walenga has a nickname for fellow senior Joey Glennon.“We like to call Joey 'The Generator,’” Walenga said. “He generates so much energy at the perfect time, all the time.“He’s got a high motor and is a great player. Whenever we need him, he always delivers.”Glennon lived up to his moniker on Thursday, delivering 1...
Aquin feels no pressure in 1A; G-K's Pierce puts dagger in IC Catholic's 2A title bid
Alayna Pierce (16) had 18 kills to lead Genoa-Kingston past IC Catholic Prep in the Class 2A championship match Saturday at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor NORMAL -- Genoa-Kingston’s Alayna Pierce didn’t have the kind of performance she had hoped for in the Cogs’ semifinal victory Friday over Chillicothe IVC. The 5-foot-11 junior had 8 kills, but those came at the expense of 38 attempts and 9 errors for a -.025 hitting percentage.So, Pierce went back to the drawing board.“At practice this mor...
Illprepvb.com presents a first look at Illinois' top 2023 club teams … the 18s
(On the home page) SPVB 18 Elite and SPVB 18 Kahl tangle at the Great Lakes Volleybal Center in 2022. (Above) Marist's Kamryn Chaney (far court) returns for 1st Alliance 18 Gold along with six other players who won a national USAV championship as 17s. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFirst, congratulations to former Mother McAuley great Kayla Caffey, who played in her second NCAA Division I national championship in two years when Texas defeated Louisville on December 17.A 2016 graduate of McAuley, Caffey was gr...
After the gold rush, here are the latest 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb Boys Club Rankings
MOD Elite B15 Blue finished third in the 15 Open division at last weekend's The Socal Cup: The Open Championship in Anaheim, California. On the home page is SPVB B18 Elite, which finished third in the 18 Open division in California, best among all entries from Illinois. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor Just about everybody in Illinois flew a little more than 2,000 miles to compete at The Socal Cup: The Open Championship in Anaheim, California, last weekend. But their next trip will be considerably shorter.Illinois boys’ club t...
Plainfield East beats the Saturday blues, tunes out Hinsdale South at Richards
Plainfield East's Tyler Volling (21) was named the MVP at the Richards tournament. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSaturdays have not been kind to Plainfield East.“We dominate that narrative,” said Plainfield East’s 6-2 junior setter/rightside Nathan Grutza.Heading into the quarterfinals Saturday at Richards, Plainfield East was 20-1 on weekdays but a pedestrian 5-4 on Saturdays.The Bengals went 1-2 on Saturday at Marist (losing to Marist and Downers Grove South to finish fourth), 2-1 at Smack Attack (losing to...
Watkins remembers, rallies Lyons Township past Lockport at Argo Invite
Led by Joe Watkins (18, back row, third from left), Lyons defeated Lockport to win the Argo Invite Saturday in Summit. https://youtu.be/Ra4abzYr-SU By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorJoe Watkins’ memory might be a little hazy, but there’s nothing wrong with his game.With Lyons trailing Lockport 15-13 midway through the third set of the Argo Invite championship match, Watkins strung together three successive kills to ignite a 12-8 closing run that gave the boys in royal blue and gold a 25-23, 15-25, 25-23 victory and the tournament ti...
Benet, IC Prep move up in latest 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com rankings
Kirsten Krammer (15) and the Benet Academy Redwings climbed two spots in this week's Class 4A rankings after winning the Wheaton Classic championship Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Oh, that IHSA has a sense of humor. The sectional pairings were released last week, and among the not-so-surprising surprises (?) were the assignments of private school powers and 2021 2A semifinalists (Lombard) Montini and Chicago Christian to the same supersectional. Of course, newly crowned No. 1-ranked IC Catholic Prep and the Abby VanderWal-led...
Thunderbolts extinguish the Cardinals' candles with an explosion of aces
Plainfield North (far court) travels to Homewood-Flossmoor Tuesday while Glenbard West (near court) entertains Oak Park-River Forest. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWith Southwest Suburban Conference play opening next week, the Andrew boys’ volleyball team knows it has to bring its A game.Well, to tune up, the Thunderbolts brought their A game -- as in aces – Monday against Eisenhower. Defensive specialist Drew Schissler served six of them and Andrew had 11 aces overall during its 25-8, 25-11 victory over the...
Short-handed Glenbard East hangs tough, but falls short against Downers South
Wednesday's rematch between Glenbard East and Downers Grove South did not quite have the drama of their first meeting this season at the Springfest tournament earlier this month. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorGlenbard East tried to keep it close.But let's be Real. With their best attacker and six-rotation player seated on the bench nursing an injury he aggravated in practice Tuesday, the Rams didn’t quite have enough firepower Wednesday to overcome Downers Grove South in Downers Grove.Downers Grove South, whic...
Chicago Christian's Nolan Krygsheld brings the hot sauce, earns his wings
Metea Valley's Bartosz Chmielewski (6) drives a kill past a Loyola defender during the Tiger Class at Wheaton Warrenville South. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comNolan Krygsheld earned his wings.The Chicago Christian rightside hitter had 13 kills and 5 blocks to help rally the Knights to an 18-25, 25-19, 25-18 victory over Riverside-Brookfield in a Metro Suburban Conference battle of unbeatens Tuesday in Palos Heights. Afterward, he was going to get 10 wings at Buffalo Wild Wings courtesy of Jeff Dryfh...