Plagued by injuries and inconsistency, SPVB B18 Elite dropped its final three matches and finished fourth at last weekend's JVA Showdown in Motown. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTime to play catch-up with boys’ volleyball clubs.While the girls were wrapping up their high school season, boys club teams in Illinois were quietly going about their business at THE Point Series at the Wintrust Sports Center in Bedford Park and the Third Coast Invitational at the Wisconsin Center.Last weekend, several Illinois boys’ clubs participated i...
Big weekend for 1st Alliance, Top Notch 17s in Omaha; SPVB 18 Kahl 'Blitz-es' field
1st Alliance 15 Gold toppled previously unbeaten 1st Alliance 16 Gold Sunday on the first day of Windy City Power League play. 1st Alliance 16 Gold rolled through the field during the 16/15 Open seeding portion of the Windy City Power League, going 10-0 and winning nine of 10 matches in straight sets, including a 25-19, 26-24 victory over 1st Alliance 15 Gold on January 9.Not surprising, considering that 1st Alliance 16 Gold featured seven players from the Lions 15-1 team that finished fifth in the 15 Open division at the 2021 USAV Girls Ju...
New look, same goal, same start for Montini; Benet youngsters get their feet wet
Montini is still figuring things out after losing four Division I seniors from last year's IHSA championship team, said captain Jordan Weatherly (16). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAll good things must come to an end.Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. UCLA basketball’s 88-game winning streak. Cal Ripken’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games played. UConn women's basketball 145-game regular-season conference winning streak.And Montini’s 36-match volleyball win streak. Ironically, it ended right where it began.York ended the defendi...
Here are the 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com 2022 preseason girls H.S. rankings
Huntley, with four Division I recruits, is hoping to make a big splash in 2022. Rankings. Somebody’s got to do ‘em. So here we go. Another year, another best guess.Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld says her 2022 team is the strongest she’s had since the 2016 group that was declared national champion. But there’s no shortage of challengers, including Barrington, which returns nearly everybody from the team that finished third last fall.Elsewhere, Normal U-High and Illinois recruit Lily Barry claim the top spot in Class 3A, Pleasant Pla...
The road less traveled leads former McAuley star to the NCAA championship match
Former Mother McAuley star Kayla Caffey played a big role in leading Nebraska to the NCAA championship match opposite Big Ten foe Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Nebraska athletics) Nebraska middle blocker Kayla Caffey By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFormer Mother McAuley star Kayla Caffey’s road to the NCAA championship match was full of twists and turns.And she may not be done yet.Caffey played a pivotal role in leading Nebraska to the championship match against Wisconsin, played before a crowd of 18,755 at Nationwide Arena on De...
Two Grevengoeds are together again for one final run before college beckons
Logan Grevengoed (10) led Chicago Cjhristian to a third-place finish in the IHSA Class 3A finals this fall at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Delanie, Troy and Logan Grevengoed in 2019. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comTroy Grevengoed has a bond with all his children … all six of them, including five daughters. But he has a special bond with his oldest daughter, Logan.Troy Grevengoed, the longtime boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, gave up the girls’ position this past fall to wa...
Club players from southern Illinois meet in St. Louis to kick off the Gateway League
Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy features a pair of Illinois products -- Edwardsville's outside hitter Sydney Davis (back row, second from left) and Quincy Notre Dame's Emma Hoing (back row, third from left). On the cover page is Edwardsville's Gabby Saye, who plays for Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite. By PJ BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe Windy City Power League does not get underway until January 8, but that does not mean the girls’ competitive club volleyball scene involving players from Illinois has been completely dormant.The Gateway League, which ...
Hutson's heroics help Metea Valley stop Andrew; McAuley ends Willowbrook's run
Andrew's Riley Kloss (11) tries to beat the block of a pair of Metea Valley defenders during Friday's supersectional at Plainfield North. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comKira Hutson had been in pressure situations before.So the Metea Valley star didn’t stress out when the Mustangs were staring two set points in the face during the opening game of Friday’s Class 4A Plainfield North Supersectional.Hutson came up with two huge kills and block, and 30 minutes later, Metea Valley had knocked Andrew out of the state...
Plainfield Central is thinking big after beating Sandburg for its sixth straight win
Kitty Sandt (6) and Nazareth, the only team to defeat Plainfield Central this season, dropped its East Suburban Catholic Conference opener Tuesday to Benet in LaGrange Park. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comPlainfield Central kept its winning streak going.The Wildcats pulled out a very competitive match down the stretch and toppled Sandburg, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, Tuesday in Orland Park. The Wildcats (7-1) won their sixth straight. Their only loss was to eventual runner-up Nazareth in pool play of t...
Presenting the initial Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Girls 17's Club rankings
St. Thomas More's Mallory Monahan (6) figures to add a lot of punch to Illini Elite 17 Cardinal this club season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The 2022 Windy City Power League seeding tournament for 17’s and 18’s is still two weeks away when we’ll get our first look at many of the teams listed here, but a few have already started competition and others will scrimmage this weekend at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora.As has become the norm, the rankings feature a number of teams that have undergone major “facelifts.” There are also...