Despite some graduation losses, Lincoln-Way East (far court) again figures to be among the best boys volleyball teams in Illinois this spring. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorHere are the 2023 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Boys High School Preseason Rankings (with last season’s record):1. Glenbard West 39-3Trevor Powell, Danny Dorsey and Gavin Swartz are gone, so who will step up this year? Next up: Thursday vs. Lincoln-Way East.2. Marist 36-3Six-foot-5 Marty Canavan and sophomores Nathan Toth,...

Adversity 16 Adidas-South put together back-to-back wins in the 16 Open divisions at THE Point Series 15-18s 2022 and the 2022 JVA Showdown in Motown. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWith a few exceptions, boys’ club teams will go on hiatus over the holidays, giving us time to catch up with the final weekend of THE Point Series 15-18s 2022 and the 2022 JVA Showdown in Motown last weekend in Detroit, Michigan.Through the early part of the season, 630 Volleyball 18-1 and Adversity B16 Adidas-South have established themselves as seri...

Genoa-Kingston assistant coach Marv Leavitt (white jacket), who won more than 700 matches as a head coach at St. Charles North, St. Edward and Burlington Central, lets the Cogs know where they placed in the IHSA Class 2A tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) In the immortal words of the late Bill Paxton ("Aliens"), “That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over.” Game over.Last weekend’s IHSA championships were a mixed bag of old and new. Mother McAuley won its state-record 16th IHSA championship, while St. Francis, which won 12 ...

Paige Lauterwasser (right) and Naperville North crashed the 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Class 4A rankings at No. 4 this week. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Getting to the top is sometimes easier than staying there.Benet Academy’s 6-3 junior outside hitter Ava Novak said it best Saturday.“When you’re winning a lot, sometimes you don’t come out as strong because you just expect to play great,” she said after the Redwings were stifled by Naperville North, 25-22, 25-20, in the championship game of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the Gre...

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...

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...

Can Sandburg spring some upsets in the IHSA tournament like it did by beating Lyons for fifth place at Richards? (Photo by Dave Ruggles) In the immortal words of The Great One, “And away we go.” The IHSA tournament kicks off Monday at 32 regional sites across Illinois. Leading the hopefuls is Marist, which returns to the No. 1 ranking after a three-week absence following its victory over Glenbard West on May 12.Unlike most regular-season tournaments that afford the better teams a greater opportunity to meet further down the bracket t...

Mother McAuley won five matches, four of them in three sets, to win the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament last weekend. As one might expect after three weeks of play, there were a few changes in the rankings since our preseason poll came out in late August. But a few things did not change. Mother McAuley continues to rule Class 4A following its championship at the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament last weekend at the KIVA Center in Louisville. The Mighty Macs broke a 15-15 tie in the third set to defeat (L...

SPVB 18 Elite defeated two of the top three finishers at the NIT Triple Crown tournament, including NIT champion Munciana 18 Samurai, to win the 22 Adidas Bluegrass Tournament in Louisville last weekend. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNo. 1 in the nation?SPVB 18 Elite stated its case emphatically at last weekend’s 22 Adidas Bluegrass Tournament in Louisville, crushing the teams that finished first and third at the Triple Crown NIT tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, thought by many to be the most prestigious tournament in the na...

Led by Liam O'Neill (14) and Trevor Powell (17), Glenbard West is back in familiar territory ... at the top of the boys volleyball rankings. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Where were you on Thursday, March 24? That was the day Lincoln-Way East defeated Glenbard West in both teams’ second match of the season, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23. A lot has changed since then. Actually, nothing has changed for Glenbard West. Since that day, the Hilltoppers have won 16 consecutive matches, including a 25-20, 25-15 victory over Marist in the finals of last...