Crystal Lake Central defeated Andrew at the Mother McAuley Preview tournament Saturday to earn a berth in next October's Asics Challenge. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMaddy McCormick just wanted to get it over. So that's exactly what the Crystal Lake Central junior outside hitter did.Her match-ending kill gave the Tigers a 25-18, 25-23 win over upstart Andrew on Saturday in the title match of the Mother McAuley Preview Invite.With the championship match already starting nearly an hour late, and at least an hour-and-a-half ride hom...

(Photos by Dave Ruggles) Today, we are pleased to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Boys All-State Volleyball Team, our Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court as high school players, not on any future potential or current recruitment status. These players excelled on the court and represented their schools, their teams and their communities with distinction...

Ella Strausberger (front row, far right) and her Sports Performance 15 Elite teammates. Naperville Central boys volleyball coach Roger Strausberger and his daughter, Ella. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorShe grew up in the gym watching her dad coach.She played soccer and volleyball as a youngster, but decided to focus on volleyball because she said it "kind of runs in the family.”She’s training as a setter, and sometimes father and daughter sit down and talk about strategy and how to run an offense.Naperville Central boys’ volleybal...

Adversity G16 Adidas may have learned some valuable lessons after competing in the 16 Open division at the Windy City National Qualifier. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon outside McCormick Place along Chicago’s lakefront for the final day of the 2019 adidas Windy City National Qualifier.   Inside, however? Well, that was a mixed bag. Dreams were shattered, hopes were dashed, and lessons were learned. Adversity G16 Adidas had already qualified for the 2019 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships June 27-July 6 ...

No. 7 Deerfield improved to 17-3 overall with its win Thursday at Maine West and stayed in contention for the Central Suburban North title. By Randy WhalenSpecial  to Illprepvb.com After learning earlier in the day that it received the No. 1 seed in a sub-sectional of the (Machesney Park) Harlem Sectional, Deerfield went out and kept itself in contention for a more immediate goal. A share of the Central Suburban North title.The Warriors kept themselves alive in the conference race a 25-16, 25-21 victory Thursday over Maine West...

Norris City-Omaha-Enfield's Evie Duncan powers a kill past the outstretched arms of Athens' defenders Sophia Chavis (11) and Lexi Morgan (12) during the Class 1A third-place match last fall. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, Illprepvb.com continues its look at 200 reasons why we’re looking forward to girls high school volleyball resuming in the fall.Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday released long-awaited guidance for schools across the state that would allow them to re-open in the fall. Each school district will determine how to impl...

Sophomore Tori Mohesky had 8 kills for Breese Mater Dei in its Class 2A championship loss to Decaur St. Teresa. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) NORMAL – Decatur St. Teresa and Breese Mater Dei were no strangers before taking the floor at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University for the Class 2A championship game, having met at the Quincy Notre Dame tournament on October 22."It was helpful that we played them a couple of weeks ago,” said Decatur St. Teresa setter Lexie Huck. “We knew what they were going to bring, and we knew w...