Camryn Sheehan (3) and O'Fallon rallied to defeat Barrington and become the only quarterfinal entry to crash the otherwise all-West Subuurban Silver semifinals. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThey should flash a graphic on the big screen inside the Hoffman Estates High School gymnasium … “Welcome to the West Suburban Silver Conference Tournament.”West Suburban Silver conference members Glenbard West, Oak Park-River Forest and Lyons Township all advanced to the IHSA boys’ tournament semifinals Saturday at Hoffm...
Feeling the pain is Barrington’s gain; IHSA quarterfinal pairings flush with drama
Barrington's 6-11 junior Cole Hartke missed three weeks and 11 matches due to injury, but has returned to help lead the Broncos to Friday's IHSA quarterfinals. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFighting the pain.Barrington talks about it every day.Two years ago, No. 2-seeded Barrington lost its regional opener to No. 18 Addison Trail, 25-17, 25-21. Last year, Barrington, arguably the second-best team in the tournament field, fell to eventual IHSA champion Glenbard West, 22-25, 25-13, 25-18, in the finals of ...
Mother knows best, O’Fallon does the rest; Lyons Township, Barrington advance
Sam Levinson and Lyons Township defeated Downers Grove North Tuesday at Oswego to advance to the IHSA quarterfinals Friday at Hoffman Estates. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) At Lincoln-Way WestMother knows best.So, when Camryn Sheehan woke up not feeling well this morning, his mom, Amy Sheehan, knew what to do to get him better. After all, she had a personal stake in his health. Not only as his mom, but as his coach on the O'Fallon boys' volleyball team.It worked. Sheehan smacked a team-high 12 kills, many of them in a key second-set bu...
Lyons solves mystery of Red Devils history; Downers North, Lincoln-Way West win
Hinsdale Central (far court), which defeated Lyons Township during the regular season and in last year's sectional semifinals, could not pull of the feat again Saturday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) At OswegoLyons Township stars Sam Levinson and Luka Kostic claim they don’t dwell on the past.But they aren’t above using history to fuel their fire.Levinson smashed 9 kills and Kostic landed eight more as the top-seeded Lions knocked off rival Hinsdale Central, 25-21, 25-20, in the Oswego Sectional semifinals on Saturday.The victory avenged a ...
Lockport’s young guns stun Lincoln-Way East: Lyons, Levinson stop Glenbard East
Lyons Township defeated Glenbard East on Thursday to win the regional at Naperville Central. https://youtu.be/IlDZBeCjmGY At LockportIt’s not next year. The time is now for the Lockport boys' volleyball team.Without a single senior starter, many pundits thought the Porters were a year away from making a big playoff push. Instead, they went out and rallied for a 19-25, 25-20, 25-21 win over top-seed Lincoln-Way East in Thursday’s title match of the Lockport Regional.After winning just three regional titles between 1993 and 2017, Lockpo...
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Henderson, Downers North exude confidence; Glenbard South rally stuns Benet
Junior middle hitter Adam Janowiak had 8 kills and a block in Downers Grove North's win over Oswego at Glenbard South. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/idz93dLMcEA By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorGlenbard West. Lyons Township. Oak Park-River Forest. Plainfield East. York. Fishers (Indiana).Downers Grove North has played them all … winning some, losing some, and hanging with just about everybody on their schedule.The IHSA tournament road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Trojans, who advanced to Thursday’s 6:00 ...
Nathan Grutza does it all as Plainfield East stops Plainfield North in SPC finale
Plainfield East's Kendall Killins (2) had 11 kills in the Bengals' victory Thursday at Plainfield North. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comPlainfield East coach Jeff Wilkie left nothing to chance going into Thursday’s regular season finale against host Plainfield North.“We’ve been preparing for this all week, watching film,” Wilkie said. “I found a whole lot of crowd noise on a YouTube video and played it in our gym one day, just because of how loud it was in our gym last year when they were at our house.“I...
Lake Park sneaks past South Elgin in postseason warm-up for the two league champs
Lake Park finished the regular season with a 29-27, 27-25 victory over South Elgin on Wednesday. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s never too late to learn a valuable volleyball lesson.Lesson No. 1? Don’t ever give up.“The momentum we've had coming out of the last few games of the regular season, we just need to bring that into regionals,” said Lake Park’s 6-5 sophomore middle hitter Carter Gibbons. “We need to come out fighting, especially on our home court.”Lesson No. 2? Finish what you start.“We were in control in both games, but...
Downers South eyes another postseason run; key injury clouds Morton’s future
Morton sophomore Luisangel Cortes-Curiel (3) tries to slip a kill past the outstretched arms of Downers Grove South's Mason Kolar (5) and Nick Koch (15). (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“Our sectional,” said Downers Grove South coach Kurt Steuer. “Our sectional … ““It’s tough anywhere,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re seeded. But it is what it is. You got to go out and play.”Downers Grove South’s 25-12, 25-16 victory over Morton on Tuesday was almost inconsequential in the bigger picture, although So...