That's what friends are for. Adversity G18 Adidas not won the 21 Nike Mideast Qualifier to snag an Open bid to nationals, their victory paved the way for Fusion 18 Red, which finished fifth at both the qualifier and the Great Lakes Regional, to receive a "trickle down" bid in the American division. 319 miles. That’s the distance Kayla Daros’ family drove Saturday afternoon moments after final volley of Club Fusion 18 Red's match at the 21 Nike Mideast Qualifier in Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Charles East’s opening tip at St. Franc...

SPVB G18 Elite's Audrey Rome (Sandwich, on the home page) and Adversity G18 Adidas' middle hitter Gigi Barr (York, pictured inside) are two of reasons their teams rank in the top three of the 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Preseason Girls Club Rankings. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) When will they start? How will they finish?Like the boys, the girls club season is on hold while Illinois continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor’s recent restriction on youth indoor sports has forced Illinois clubs to break for the time being,...

Plainfield North's Ella Wrobel (17, far right) is widely considered the best player in the state and will join Big Ten power Wisconsin after graduating this spring. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) You know the season is thisclose when somebody starts asking about rankings. So here we go. Maybe not the answer they’re looking for, but by all calculations, our best guess.Marist, Illprepvb.com’s No. 1 Class 4A team in the preseason in 2018 and again in 2019, is the preseason favorite in 4A again this fall. Marist went on to win it all in 2018, b...

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...

Barrington's Jessica Horwath (2) and the Fillies handed Class 3A No. 1 Belvidere North its first loss of the season Saturday at the Huntley tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). (Editor's note: There will be no rankings Monday, October 18. The final regular-season rankings will run Monday, October 25.)The “rolling of the peas” took place Monday morning at the IHSA offices in Bloomington to determine the semifinals pairings for all four classes November 12-13 at Redbird Arena.No one should expect all the top seeds to survive their sectio...

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. But once again, the tournament reinforced the idea that the final eight teams in each class, if not the final 16, should be seeded, and the “rolling of the peas” abandoned. And while they’re at it, “geographic representation” should be trashed, too.The...

All work and no play makes for a very long day, so these Eastside Volleyball Club 16U Thunder girls took time out to enjoy pizza night at Brienzo's Wood Fired Pizza in Peoria Heights. Fox Force Five?Any fan of Quentin Tarantino and “Pulp Fiction” will remember the fictional TV series pilot that starred Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), which she referred to as her “15 minutes.” The show followed the exploits of an all-female team of secret agents, each having a particular specialty.The fictional show was later mentioned in “The Lego Batman Movie...

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 ...

Plainfield North's Ella Wrobel (88) headlines Sports Performance 18 Elite, which welcomes back four players from the team that was runner-up in the 18 Open division at the 48th AAU Girls Junior National Championships last summer. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAnd so it begins.We will get our first look at three of the top 18’s teams in the Great Lakes Region -- Sports Performance 18 Elite, VC United 181 Elite and Illini Elite 18 Cardinal -- this weekend when they scrimmage at the Great Lakes Volleyball Ce...

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...