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...

Plainfield North, ranked No. 7 in the preseason, re-entered the rankings following its championship run at the Effingham Crossroads Classic. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) There were some changes in the rankings since last week with a handful of teams making some big noise. Marist remained No. 1 in Class 4A despite losing on the road at (Mundelein) Carmel, while Plainfield North re-entered the rankings after its impressive performance at Effingham’s Crossroads Classic. Sterling remained No. 1 in 3A despite losing Saturday to East Moline at Ga...

Heidi Bonde and the Minooka Indians are among the teams making their debut in the Michio Chicago/Illprepvb.com Girls High School Volleyball Rankings this week. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Two weeks into the season and what have we learned?Well, we have learned the Class 3A and 2A are loaded with great teams, all of Class 4A is still chasing Marist, and Class 1A is still Newark and everybody else. Meanwhile, this week’s rankings feature 13 new teams, including Minooka, Naperville Central, De La Salle, LaSalle-Peru and Newman Central Cathol...

Lockport coach Nick Mraz will be a busy man come February 2021. He coaches both girls and boys teams at Lockport. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Now that we know that the girls' high school volleyball season has been pushed back to "spring" beginning February 15, here are 10 more teams that could thrive in 2021. Class 4ADowners Grove North (22-17) – Setter Grace Malone and middle hitter Morgan Wendt are significant losses for coach Mark Wasik, but as long as Gwen Wolkow is around, the Trojans will always be in the hunt. The 5-10 outside hit...

Future 18 Elite and SPVB B16 Elite finished second in their respective divisions at the just-concluded 2020 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic in St. Louis. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The 2020 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic in St. Louis, Missouri, is in the books. Illinois teams did not win a single Open championship, doing most of their damage in the USA and Club divisions.Local division winners at Lafata included SPVB B18 Lenny (18 USA), Future 17 White (17 USA), 630 Volleyball 16-1 (16 USA) and Ultimate B15 Blue (15 Club).Runners-up in th...

Alexis Mines (70) from Joliet West helped SPVB 16 Elite finished third in the 18/17 Power division at the Presidents' Day Challenge hosted by Sports Performance at the Schaumburg Convention Center last weekend. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The Presidents’ Day tournaments are in the books with Illinois teams competing from Kansas City to St. Louis to Schaumburg. The Triple Crown NIT Volleyball Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, proved to be the most difficult hurdle for teams from the Great Lakes Region, with 1st Alliance 16 Silver tu...