Katie Scherer and her 1st Alliance 18 Gold teammates are the only local competitors in the the 18 Open division at this weekend's USA Volleyball Girls 18's Junior National Championship in Baltimore, Maryland. On the homepage is Sky High Adidas 18 Elite's Ruth Ziegler. (File photos by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Twelve area teams will be heading to Baltimore, Maryland, this weekend for the USA Volleyball Girls 18's Junior National Championship. It’s the final stop for many of these girls ...

Streamwood, which improved to 15-3 overall with Wednesday's win at Rolling Meadows, faces a key Upstate Eight Conference game next week when it hosts Glenbard East. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorStreamwood coach Michelle Mueller admits a lot of people looked at her like she was crazy when she brought up a 5-5 sophomore outside hitter two years ago.They’re not laughing anymore.Brandon Voravong, who is somewhat generously listed at 5-5, smashed a team-high 9 kills and added an ace Wednesday to lead Streamwood (15-3 overall, 4-0 in the ...

Benet Academy remained unbeaten in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tuesday, defeating Marian Catholic despite losing Dom Krzeczkowski (second from right) to a stomach virus early in the second set. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWith 6-8 outside hitter and leading attackerDominic Krzeczkowski battling a stomach virus and exiting the match midway through the second set Tuesday, Benet Academy coach Hector Cano was looking for a few heroes.Enter Reed Hefley and sophomore Lukas Carlsen.Hefley provided 19 assists, 7 kills and an ace,...

Glenbard West's 6-3 outside hitter Adam Graham was named the MVP of the Brother Rice Smack Attack last weekend. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorMoments after Glenbard West defeated Marist to win the Brother Rice Smack Attack last weekend, 6-foot-3 outside hitter Adam Graham explained why the Hilltoppers continue to dominate Illinois boys’ volleyball.“We beat ourselves up in practice knowing that we're going to get better,” he said. “We need to get better to accomplish our goals.”Few work harder – either on ...

Lake Park's Dylan Roszak tries to get past the Maine South block in a Silver bracket semifinal at the Richard Griesheim Invitational hosted by Downers Grove Soth on Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThe opening set of Saturday's showdown between top-ranked Glenbard West and No. 2 Marist at the Brother Rice Smack Attack showed why the two teams are the best in the state. Like a heavyweight fight, the teams exchanged blows and were tied at every point between 7-7 and 17-17. Then came the X-...

Barrington's 6-10 outside hitter Cole Hartke is helping the Broncos find their way after they experienced a slow start to the 2024 season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.comThere is a simple formula in volleyball that states, “energy plus fun equals wins.”Barrington did not display much energy at the beginning of the season and certainly wasn’t having a lot of fun.Cole Hartke is helping to change that.“We had a rough start,” said Barrington’s 6-10 outside hitter. “We weren’t playing to expectations. We really needed to t...

Glenbard West dropped the first set to Oak Park-River Forest Tuesday in Glen Ellyn, then rallied from a late deficit in the third to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comA bus delay caused Oak Park-River Forest to arrive more than an hour late for its showdown with Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn on Tuesday.When the highly anticipated match finally got started, it proved to be worth the wait.Senior opposite Adam Graham smashed all nine of his kills in the final two ...

Loyola Academy's Jack Lopez (10), who led the Ramblers to the championship of the 20th Annual Tiger Classic, is this week's Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhat would former Loyola Academy and Pepperdine great and 2014 Sun-Times Player of the Year David Wieczorek think about Jack Lopez’s performance last weekend at the 20th Annual Tiger Classic?“He was smiling all the way from the beaches of California,” said Loyola coach Lionel Ebeling. Lopez had 61 k...

Loyola Academy (near court) extended its season-opning win streak to 17 by defeating Lincoln-Way West, 25-18, 25-21, to win the 20th Annual Tiger Classic Saturday in Wheaton. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLoyola Academy coach Lionel Ebeling wasn’t making excuses after the Ramblers dropped their first set of the season to Lake Park in Saturday’s semifinals at the 20th Annual Tiger Classic hosted by Wheaton Warrenville South.But …“What's amazing is that we have yet to play with our six or seven guys in our...