Fremd's Rylen Reid (13), who toils for Adversity Volleyball Club, and Marist's Mary Clare Brusek (5), who plays for Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy, saw a lot of each other in the 2019 IHSA Class 4A third-place match and could see each other again during club play in 2021. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Yes, they are playing club volleyball in some parts of the country. Wisconsin and Nevada held events last week. But the immediate future does not look in Illinois as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the state.The Windy City Power L...

SPVB B18 Elite, SPVB 18 Lenny and Ultimate B16 Gold all won their respective Open divisions at the 21 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic last weekend in St. Louis. The 21 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic at America’s Center in St. Louis wrapped up play Sunday and Great Lakes Region teams turned in a number of stellar performances.Two Sports Performance teams walked away with championships – SPVB B18 Elite and SPVB 18 Lenny. Lenny had also won the tournament in 2020 while SPVB 18 Elite was looking to improve upon a sixth-place finish at the...

Is anyone capable of taking down Glenbard West? That’s the question to ponder this weekend when many of the top teams in Illinois will converge on Downers Grove South and the Smack Attack hosted by Brother Rice, including Glenbard West, Lincoln-Way West and Marist at Brother Rice and Oak Park and New Trier at Downers South. Here are the top 25 teams heading into a pivotal Week Five. (previous ranking in parentheses) 1. Glenbard West 12-0 (1)Hosts league foe Oak Park on Monday, travels to Smack Attack this weekend. 2. Lincoln-Way ...

Ultimate B18 Gold tops the final 2019 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com Boys Club Rankings. Another club season is in the books. Congratulations to all the teams that qualified for the 2019 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas. Here are the final 2019 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Boys Club Rankings (with pre-tournament rankings in parenthesis). SPVB B18 Elite 18s 1. Ultimate B18 Gold (1)Ultimate B18 Gold never could get anything going at the 2019 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships ...

Niles West captured the title of its own 10-team invite Saturday. Glenbard West demonstrated its depth and dominance while winning Springfest at Glenbard East, Oak Park-River Forest rebounded from losses to Palatine and Marist to win the 24-team event at Warren, previously unranked Niles West handily won its own invite, and poll newcomer Hersey defeated Plainfield South to win at St. Charles East. The tournament schedule is light this week, but there are still some big individual showdowns with Lincoln-Way West hosting Minooka on Mon...

Bloomington went 4-1 at the Scholastic Cup tournament, losing only to nationally-ranked Leon (Florida). 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week Seven Girls Rankings (Last week’s ranking in parenthesis) 1. Marist (1) 26-1 Ellie Kurpeikis, RedHawks stay Whitney Young. 2. Sterling (2) 26-0 Travels to Geneseo Tuesday for Big 12 showdown. 3. Benet (3) 23-4 Valentina Tabares, Kyla Kenney rule Scholastic Cup. 4. Sandburg (4) 24-4 Eagles able to hold off Natalie Mitchem, Bolingbrook. 5. Marian Catholic (5) 22-5 Thom...

Marist is the No. 1 team in the 1st Allliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com Boys Volleyball final regular-season rankings heading into the IHSA tournament. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The postseason. A chance for redemption. Or an early start to summer. It all begins Monday. Here are the top 25 teams at the end of the regular season, and when and where you can find them as they begin the road to Hoffman Estates. (previous ranking in parentheses) 1. Marist 33-2 (1)Next: Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. vs. winner of Oak Lawn vs. Homewood-Flossmo...

Adversity G16 Adidas was the only team from Illinois to qualify in the 16 Open division at the 2019 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships. Adversity ranks second in the final 2019 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Girls Club Rankings. Another club season is in the books. Congratulations to all the teams that qualified for the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships and all the teams that competed in the AAU Girls Junior National Championships. Here are the final 2019 1st Alliance VBC/Illprepvb.com Girls Club Rankings...

(Photo by Dave Ruggles) Finally at full strength, New Trier put itself back into the IHSA tournament title picture by defeating Oak Park-River Forest at the Northside Classic. Meanwhile, preseason No. 1 Glenbard West, which a few weeks earlier easily handled Oak Park-River Forest, lost to the Huskies in the semifinals. Elsewhere, Minooka didn’t lose to anybody at Metea Valley, and Lake Forest and Neuqua Valley struggled with their two stars playing in the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. Hinsdale Central won the title at York, Leyden won its ...

NIC-10 powerhouse Belvidere North doesn't figure to be challenged until the state tournament. 1st Alliance Volleyball Club/Illprepvb.com 2018 Week SixGirls Rankings(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)1. Marist (1) 24-1Assumption ends RedHawks’ win streak at 56. 2. Sterling (2) 22-0Warriors have no trouble with rival Cavaliers. 3. Benet (3) 16-4Six-foot freshman Annie Remmes bolsters middle.4. Sandburg (7) 22-4Eagles finish third at prestigious ASICS Challenge.5. Marian Catholic (4) 20-5Falls to Sandburg, finishes fourth at ASICS Challenge....