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...

Club Fusion 18 Silver went 9-0 to win the 18 American division at the recent Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place and earn a bid to the USAV Girls Junior National Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorMaybe, it’s cold outside, but club volleyball is beginning to heat up.The initial Windy City Power League 18/17 Open Seeding Event wrapped up last weekend with only a few surprises, while SPVB 18 Elite flexed its muscle at the first Champions Cup event at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center.This...

After playing 22 games in 23 days and suffering its first loss since March 24, Glenbard West entertains West Suburban Silver foe Lyons on Tuesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) No sooner had many observers crowned Glenbard West as the inevitable IHSA champion than the Hilltoppers found themselves pushed to the brink by circumstance at the Northside Classic last weekend.All last weekend really proved is that if you take two of the top three players from even the best team in the land and put them on the shelf, it’s very difficult to beat an ...

SPVB B16 Elite won the 16 Open division of the JVA Showdown in Motown last weekend to earn the top spot in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Boys 16's Club rankings. 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’...

Emotions ran high Saturday at the IHSA tournament at Redbird Arena among both winners and losers. But win or lose, most agreed they were just happy to be back on the court this fall. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAnother IHSA tournament is in the books. Let’s pray that 2020 is the last time the tournament is cancelled. Recommendation to avoid future cancellations? Encourage folks to get vaccinated. (P.S. Just another reason not to like Aaron Rodgers).My biggest beef of last weekend? The prices at the conc...

Lauren Coyne (far right) of Wheaton Warrenville South is one of the reasons Sports Performance 15 Elite should be one of the top 15's teams in the state this club season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The 2022 Windy City Power League seeding tournament starts next Saturday at a number of sites throughout the Chicago area and we’ll get our first look at many of the teams listed here, but for now, it’s mostly speculation as we present our first rankings of the season. The 15s are always the most difficult to predict for a variety of reasons....