Lions 15-1 veterans libero Sam Falk (32) from Mother McAuley and Oak Park-River Forest's Grace Nelson (29) are expected to lead 1st Alliance 16 Gold this season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The 2022 Windy City Power League seeding tournament starts 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 16’s rankings feature a number of teams that have undergone major “facelifts.” Ther...

Glenbrook North complete just the sixth unbeaten season (albeit an abbreviated one) for an Illinois boys' volleyball team when it defeated Lake Park, 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, Saturday at Glenbard West. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) After weeks and weeks of speculation (will we or won’t we?), we did.The 2021 boys’ volleyball season ended with an IHSA-sponsored tournament. And though, as always, it was far from perfect – sectional imbalance and “geographic representation” continue to be issues the IHSA refuses to address – somehow, the two best te...

Pipeline 18-1 advanced to the championship match of the 18 USA division at the USAV Boys Junior National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. The party is over … for at least a few weeks.A chaotic boys’ club volleyball season – which began last fall with tryouts, took a brief hiatus during an abbreviated boys’ high school season, and resumed with practice ahead of the USAV Boys Junior National Championships, all with the specter of COVID hanging over participants and spectators alike – is finally over.    Time to res...

Marist's Kamryn Chaney (right) is back from injured reserve and was named MVP of the Wheaton Classic last weekend. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) So what did we learn last week?For starters, we learned that Marist, now that the RedHawks have senior superstar outside hitter Kamryn Chaney back off the disabled list, are every bit the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A they were crowned in the preseason.Marist rolled through the Wheaton Classic field last Saturday. Eight-time tournament champion Benet Academy, which for some inexplicable reason was p...

The talents of Fusion 16 Red's Grace Egan (Sterling) and Illini Elite 16 Cardinal's Lily Barry (Normal U-High) were on display during the 2019 IHSA volleyball championships at Redbird Arena. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Many volleyball clubs throughout Illinois are proceeding with plans to resume after the first of the year. The Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora recently released its schedule for the new year, which includes its Challenge Cup series and Presidents’ Day tournament (see the "Wanted" section).The dates to begin the Wind...

The AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships are still scheduled for July 14-22, in Orlando, Florida. But because of the lack of local competitors, the tournament will have no bearing on our rankings. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) It is hard to believe that, for all intents and purposes, the 2020 girls club season ended nearly four months ago. Five Illinois clubs, including 1st Alliance, Top Flight and Sky High, have entered teams in the AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida, on July 14-22, which has banned ...

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...

Junior Camryn Sheehan (3) and the O'Fallon Panthers figure to be one of Illinois' top teams in 2023. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Who knew when Barrington took a one set to love lead over Glenbard West in the sectional championship match at Schaumburg, that would be as close as anyone would come to the Hilltoppers during their fourth tournament title run?Perhaps those pundits who picked rookie coach Charlie Spry’s guys No. 1 in the preseason were not so far off after all?Otherwise, it was business as usual for Christine Giunta-Mayer’s minio...

1st Alliance 17 Silver finished seventh in the 17 Open division at last weekend's Northern Lights Qualifier in Omaha, Nebraska. When they were good, they were exceptionally good. When they were not as good, you had to take it with a grain of salt.Illinois’ 17s proved to be a mixed bag last weekend at the Northern Lights Qualifier in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Zone Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana. Nevertheless, given that it was the first time out of the house for many Illinois clubs, the results were promising.Making the bi...

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. ...