Metamora sophomore Esma Frieden (8) banged out 22 kills to lead the Redbirds to a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19 victory Tuesday at Normal West. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) CHICAGO -- Between 2017-19, the Marist girls’ volleyball team lost a total of seven matches in winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles and then placing third.Last Saturday, the RedHawks dropped two matches in a row and finished fourth at the Crimson Classic, which led them to do some soul-searching.“I feel like it motivated me to be more of an impact player,” said Marist outside h...
Penn State recruit Ava Falduto has little IC Catholic Prep thinking big
IC Catholic Prep's Ava Falduto will head to Penn State University to play libero when her high school career ends in two years. (Cover photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorState.Hall of Fame coach Jean Field led Immaculate Conception (now IC Catholic Prep) to Redbird Arena six times during her long and storied career, winning Class A championships in 1981 and 1984 and a Class 2A title in 2013.IC Catholic Prep has not been back since. Ava Falduto wants to change that.“Lucy (5-0 junior setter Russ) and I have been on v...
Powerhouse Normal U-High ready to home in on success, get back to Redbird
University High hopes an explosive offense can earn the team a trip to Redbird Arena, which is just seventh-tenths of a mile south of the school off Main Street in Normal. By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – Home buyers often look for places that are “move-in ready.”Likewise, volleyball fans of Class 3A state powerhouse University High School in Normal hope to watch an offense that won’t need renovation during or after its August 22 season-opener at Bloomington.“Our top strengths will be our setting and our offense,” says Mike ...
Veteran Gieseke helps young Plainfield Central put tough start in rear-view mirror
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...
1st Alliance 17 Gold is No. 1 in nation; 16 Gold, Sky High 17 place second at USAVs
1st Alliance 17 Gold huddles on its way to winning the 17 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana – The Gold bracket of the 17 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship was a breeze for No. 1 seed 1st Alliance 17 Gold.Getting there? Well, that was a different story. After finishing second in its initial pool and losing to AZ REV 17 Premier (Phoenix, Arizona) 17-25, 25-19, 15-13, in its first match of a Round 2, three-team pool Sunday, 1st Al...
A return to 'normalcy' begs the inevitable, impossible question — who's No. 1?
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...
Grayson steps away (but not too far) after nearly three decades as a player, coach
Former Newark star and Horizon League freshman of the year Madi Malone said if her former coach decides to return to the sidelines, she would support her in "any way." (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Tonya Grayson won more than 500 games and 18 conference titles as head coach at Newark By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWhen Tonya Grayson took over the girls’ volleyball program at Newark in 2001, the Class 1A school in Kendall County was known as a basketball school.Two decades later, that is no longer the case.The Norsemen became a volleyba...
Is one Sky High better than two? Which 1st Alliance team is first? It's still undecided
Sky High Adidas 16 Elite is a combination of two 15s teams from a year ago and has found itself among the upper echelon of teams in the Windy City Power League 16/15 Open division. On the home page is Sky High Adidas 16 Elite setter Jenna Meitzler from Barrington. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBack and forth they go.1st Alliance 16 Gold and 1st Alliance 15 Gold found themselves in familiar territory Saturday during Windy City Power League play at the 1st Alliance facility in Woodridge – the championship match of Bracket A.Whether i...
Lee-Caracci, with a little help from her friends, leads Lyons past Willowbrook
Willowbrook suffered its first loss of the 2022 season Wednesaday at the hands of visiting Lyons Township, 25-20, 12-25, 25-22. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe graduation of Tia Kostic and Adriana Vassek – who together accounted for more than 500 kills – from last year’s sectional semifinalist Lyons team put the burden of being “that” girl squarely on the shoulders of returning outside hitter Kamryn Lee-Caracci.So far, Lee-Caracci has shown that, boy, she can carry that weight a long time.Wednesday in Villa Park, Lee-Caracci slamm...
Hinsdale Central exploits rotation error, rides momentum past Maine South
Jakobi Lange had 6 kills and an ace, and Hinsdale Central regrouped after a lengthy interruption during the second set to storm past Maine South, 14-25, 25-21, 25-16, Tuesday in Hinsdale. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/7T3NSE2_xWM By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSometimes all it takes is something as innocuous as a service rotation error to turn a match around.After crushing Hinsdale Central 25-14 in the first set of the teams’ non-conference match Wednesday in Hinsdale, Maine South eased to an 8-6 lead in the second ...