St. Francis claimed its second consecutve IHSA Class 3A championship and No. 14 overall by defeating Lincoln Saturday at Rebidrd (now CEFCU) Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTime to close the books on another girls’ high school season.Here’s a question for the IHSA: Since the official girls’ volleyball calendar had the 2023 season ending on November 11, if the Class 4A championship game ran any longer, would they have had to stop play and declare a tie?Something to think about.Meanwhile, here they ...

MOD Elite B18 Blue's J ack Lopez (far left, 35) is caught trying to catch a few winks (?) in between points during MOD's run to the 18 Open championship at the Brew City Battle in Milwaukee on January 27-28. (Photos by Ben Johnson, courtesy of MOD Elite Volleyball Club) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWith the exception of a few teams competing in the 24 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic this weekend in St. Louis or the SPVB President's Day tournament next weekend, most boys’ club teams are disbanding for a few months with the ons...

Adam Graham and Glenbard West will be seeking their second IHSA championship three-peat in nine years when the 2024 IHSA boys high school season opens Monday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Notice: You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, re-post, or use the content of the Site for public or commercial purposes, including the text, images, audio, and video, without Illprepvb.com, LLC’s written permission. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFive out of eight?Last year’s boys’ high school preseason rankings accurately predicted ...

MOD Elite and lvirtually every other club in Illinois will compete in the 2024 AAU/JVA Brew City Battle on January 27-28 in Milwaukee. Notice: You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, re-post, or use the content of the Site for public or commercial purposes, including the text, images, audio, and video, without Illprepvb.com, LLC’s written permission. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNow that the local teams have returned from sunny California and last weekend’s 2024 SoCal Cup: The Open Championship at the Los Angel...

GabriellaTowns (6) and the Oak Park-River Forest Huskies finished fifth at last weekend's Autumnfest tournament hosted by Glenbard East. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorOK, who is the No. 1 team in Class 4A this week?Right now, it’s Benet Academy (again).Why?Mathematics. It’s as simple as A beats B, B beats C, C beats A. Benet is 1-1 against Marist (splitting two matches) and 1-0 against Mother McAuley. Meanwhile, Mother McAuley is 0-1 against Benet Academy and 1-1 vs. Marist, and Marist is 2-2 with a win an...

Sophomore Laney Snow (18) and Normal University HIgh were scheduled to visit Normal West on Monday as part of the Bloomington/Normal Intercity Tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLeave it to the IHSA.What’s their latest outrage?How about assigning defending Class 2A champion Genoa-Kingston, last year’s runner-up IC Catholic Prep and No. 3-ranked Timothy Christian to the same sectional? We suspect that’s one way to placate certain members of their constituency.Not that those teams will get any sym...

Junior libero Mari Rodriguez and the undefeated Huntley Red Raiders host Barrington on Wednesday in a remacth of last year's supersectional meeting at Dundee-Crown. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“Well, at least we haven’t been sent to the ‘sectional of death.’”That’s how one suburban Chicago coach reacted to the release of the regional, sectional and supersectional sites by the IHSA last Friday. Similar sentiments are likely being felt by coaches throughout Illinois regardless of their team’s class, ...

Mother McAuley defeated Notre Dame Academy (Louisville, Kentucky) on Saturday to win its second consecutive ASICS Challenge championship. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s the same old story – B beats A, C beats B, A beats B.Can anyone hold down the top spot in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Girls High School Class 4A rankings?We could find out this week when Marist, which beat Mother McAuley to open the door for Benet Academy to assume the top spot after the Redwings beat Marist in the finals of the Wheaton Classi...

Five-foot-7 junior defensive specialist Sarah Jensen (Barrington) and her teammates won SPVB 18 Red's third consecutive national championship in the 18 Club division at the 50th annual AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe dust has barely settled on the 2023 girls’ club season and tryouts for upcoming season have already begun.Although Illinois produced no national championships in the Open divisions at the USAV tournament in Chicago or...

Mother McAuley and Benet Academy could be headed toward another IHSA Class 4A championship match clash, or will the folks downstate pair the two big-school powerhouses in a supersectional smashup like they did in 2014? Stay tuned. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Notice: You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, re-post, or use the content of the Site for public or commercial purposes, including the text, images, audio, and video, without Illprepvb.com, LLC’s written permission.By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLet the (guessing) games be...