Marist walked off with a lot of hardware in 2018, including the title of the Illprepvb.com/Crosstown Classic hosted by Plainfield North. Marist was Illprepvb.com’s No. 1 team in the preseason in 2018, and justified that confidence by rolling through the regular season and the IHSA to win its second consecutive IHSA Class 4A championship. Will history repeat itself … again? Meanwhile, this season, Illprepvb.com is changing things up a little. After ranking 25 teams regardless of class each of the previous two seasons, this fall...

Sandburg and Ultimate Volleyball Club's Gavin Kissane (1) returns from a 16s team that enjoyed a successful run during last year's Palos Point Series. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Boys’ volleyball clubs throughout Illinois (and southeastern Wisconsin) got some bad news last week when Palos Courts was forced to postpone the start of the 2020-21 Palos Point Series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So while they wait for a possible January reboot, it’s never too early to look at what the boys’ club scene will look like in 2021. Most clubs – but...

Lemont (far court) went 4-1 to win the Silver division at the Wheaton Classic on Saturday and solidify its position as one of the state's top Class 3A teams. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) There’s a new No. 1.At least until October 22, if not sooner.Benet and Marist tangled for the third consecutive year in the championship match of the Wheaton Classic on Saturday, and unlike the previous two times the teams met, this time it was Benet coming away with the three-set win, 22-25, 29-27, 25-22.But the road ahead is filled with pitfalls for both ...

Ella Wrobel and her SPVB 18 Elite teammates won last weekend's 21 Adidas Bluegrass Tournament Week 2 event, and are eyeing a rematch with Asics Munciana 18 Samurai in two weeks at the Showdown in the Smokies. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The high school and club volleyball careers of hundreds of Illinois girls are ending in the next few weeks.A few fortunate ones will compete at the 2021 USAV Girls 18s Junior National Championship in Columbus, Ohio, April 23-25, while others will don their high school uniforms for the final time in the days...

Six-foot-2 junior middle hitter Storm Suhre (17) and Edwardsville went 3-2 at last weekend's Scholastic Cup tournament hosted by St. Charles East at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Class 4A powerhouses Benet and Marist headline the two major tournaments in the Chicago area this weekend. Marist (25-2) is the top seed at the 30-team Fall Harvest Festival sponsored by Illprepvb.com at Plainfield Central beginning Friday with pool play at Plainfield North and the host school. Plainfield North is the No...

Photos by Dave Ruggles. Rankings.Part performance. Part guess-work.Eighteen of the final 25 teams ranked at the end of the 2019 season were ranked in the preseason. Some teams that had not been ranked all season or had been in and out of the rankings broke into the final top 25. So here are they are, the final 2019 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com Top 25 Illinois boys’ volleyball teams. Let the discussion begin.(preseason ranking in parentheses) 1. Marist 40-2 (8)Defeated Glenbard West, 25-21, 25-23, in the IHSA championship m...

Libero Paul Wyszynski from Glenbrook North will anchor SPVB B18 Elite's defense when the boys' club season begins sometime after the new year. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Boys’ volleyball clubs throughout Illinois (and southeastern Wisconsin) got some bad news earlier this week when Palos Courts was forced to postpone the start of the 2020-21 Palos Point Series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So while they wait for a possible January reboot, it’s never too early to look at what the boys’ club scene will look like in 2021. Most clubs – but...

Class 1A No. 1 Newark (31-1) defeated Class 3A Metamora and Morton to win last weekend's Saints Fall Classic at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. You can bet the stands will be full Tuesday when Class 4A No. 2 Marist entertains top-ranked and unbeaten Benet. The two programs have dominated Class 4A volleyball the past eight years with Benet winning three IHSA championships (2011, 2013, 2014) during that period and Marist winning the last two. Last year, the programs met three times. Marist defeated Benet to win the Wheaton ...

Eric Epenesa and Edwardsville will host Southwestern Conference rival O'Fallon Tuesday. (photos by Dave Ruggles) Marty Jepsen and Marist repeated as Smack Attack champions, beating Glenbard West in the finals for the second time in two years. Meanwhile, Oak Park defeated Barrington to win the Richard Griesheim Invitational at Downers Grove South, and Palatine only dropped one set while winning its own invite. Next up: the Lincoln-Way East tournament. Here are the top 25 teams heading into Week Six. (previous ranking in parentheses...

Norris City-Omaha-Enfield (foreground) has enough pieces returning to make another run at Redbird Arena and a Class 1A championship in 2021. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The IHSA has made its decision and pushed girls' volleyball back to "spring." If we assume (not always a good thing when it comes to the IHSA) that girls will not have to decide between high school and club teams, here is what the 2021 field could look like: Class 4A1. Benet (41-1) – Brad Baker has some holes to fill with the departure of five seniors, but there’s more th...