Future 18 Elite and SPVB B16 Elite finished second in their respective divisions at the just-concluded 2020 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic in St. Louis. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The 2020 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic in St. Louis, Missouri, is in the books. Illinois teams did not win a single Open championship, doing most of their damage in the USA and Club divisions.Local division winners at Lafata included SPVB B18 Lenny (18 USA), Future 17 White (17 USA), 630 Volleyball 16-1 (16 USA) and Ultimate B15 Blue (15 Club).Runners-up in th...

There was some movement in this week's girls club rankings with Sky High Adidas 18 Black taking over the top spot among the 18s and Michio Chicago 16 National moving to the top of the 16s field. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The Windy City Power League seeding is over and the league season is underway. Surprises? There were a few. Meanwhile, with a few exceptions, the schedule is a little light prior to Presidents’ Day tournaments hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora and Sky High Volleyball Center in Crystal Lake. ...

Grayson Juel (58) and his UNO Boys 18 Elite teammates battled their way to the 18 Open division Gold bracket quarterfinals at last weekend's Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place last weekend was a boon for some and a nightmare for others. Despite earning several bids, Illinois teams came away with only two championships in the 15-and-over divisions – SPVB B18 Lenny in 18 USA and SPVB B16 Alpha in 16 USA. Ultimate B14 Gold did win t...

The girls' club season is well underway and it's time to sort of who's who among the best in Illinois for 2020. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The Windy City Power League is underway and the 2020 girls club season is kicking into high gear.SPVB 18 Elite, Michio Chicago 17 National, SPVB 16 Elite and Lions 15-1 topped the 2019 final club rankings, and all four – despite the obvious personnel changes – are among the top five teams in their age groups heading into the 2020 campaign.So here they are, the initial 2020 Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com ...

Despite dropping its first match of the weekend Saturday at the B16-Palos Point Series #4, SPVB B16 Elite finished atop the series' standings by winning its last five matches. The B16-Palos Point Series #4 concluded Sunday and most teams are looking ahead to this weekend’s Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place, where teams in the 16 and 15 Open divisions will vie for one of nine bids to the 2020 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships in Reno, Nevada, June 27-July 4. 2019-20 Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com Boys C...

Shane Ooms (far left) from Minooka and his UNO Boys 18 Elite teammates finished in 17th place in the 18 Open division at the SCVA 2020 Boys Junior Volleyball Invitational last weekend in Anaheim. The qualifier season is under way. Future 18 Elite and Chicago Bounce 18 Red both finished among the top 10 teams in the 18 Open division at last weekend’s 202 Southern California Volleyball Association Boys Junior Volleyball Invitational in Anaheim, while 630 Volleyball 17-1 finished third in the 17 USA division. The 2020 Boys Winter Vol...

Adversity 16 Adidas finished third in Bracket AA last weekend at Palos Courts, falling to SPVB B16 Elite in the semifinals. Last week, we looked at the top 18s and 17s boys club teams in Illinois. This week, after three weeks of the Palos Point Series and a few other minor tournaments, we look at the top 16s and 15s. 2019-20 Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com Boys Club Rankings (Season-to-date record in parenthesis) 16s1. SPVB B16 Elite (16-1)The boys from Aurora avenged their only loss of the young season, defeating Adversity 16 Ad...

Chicago Bounce 18 Red should get even better when Barrington's Ben Ridgway and New Trier's Peter Brown are fully healthy. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The preseason is over. Let the qualifier season begin. The 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place on January 18-20 will give us a better idea of where the Illinois boys club teams stack up regionally and nationally, but after three weekends at Palos Courts, it’s never too early to speculate on who are some of the best bets to make noise on the lakefront. So here i...

Zayna Meyer (left) and Wheaton Warrenville South rode some mid-season changes to the IHSA Class 4A finals at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The 2019 season is in the record books.Newark and Sterling repeated. Benet denied Marist’s bid to three-peat. St. Teresa ruled Class 2A. 14168...

Fremd's Rian Baker (17) set the Vikings to the Mid-Suburban League championship Wednesday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Et ludos incipere. (That’s Latin for “Let the games begin.” Fr. Puchalski would be proud). 13675...