Mother McAuley's Ellie White (8) played a big part in the Mighty Macs' success as a freshman last winter and figures to anchor the south side powerhouse for the next three years. On the home page is Wheaton Warrenville South's Rebecca Bellows. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Yes, the start of the 2021 fall girls’ volleyball season is still a few weeks away, but it’s never too early to speculate about what or who we’ll be seeing on high school courts across Illinois. Today, Illprepvb.com continues its look at 570 reasons to watch girls high...
Barnes named Big Ten's top defender; Wuensch fuels Wichita State's hot start
St. Francis graduate Laney Malloy (7) leads Southeast Missouri State in kills. (Photo courtesy of Southeast Missouri State) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comSenior Lauren Barnes continues to impress for the top-ranked Wisconsin, which improved to 10-0 with a 25-10, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 victory over Michigan State on February 21.Barnes, a Naperville resident who replaced fellow Benet graduate Tiffany Clark as the Badgers’ libero, recorded a career-high 28 digs in that match and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.“Defensi...
Marist ‘smacks’ No. 1 Glenbard West; Oak Park stops Barrington at Downers South
(photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThere's no substitute for versatility. There’s also no substitute for having Marty Jepsen on your team. That combination proved to be the winning one as No. 3 Marist knocked off No. 1 Glenbard West, 26-28, 25-23, 25-22, in the title match of the Brother Rice Smack Attack on Saturday at St. Xavier University.Jepsen, who officially signed with Lewis University this week, led the way for Marist (19-2) with a match-high 21 kills. But the senior outside hitter, who also le...
Kenney, Benet share the ball, defeat Waubonsie Valley to advance to supersectional
Benet's Kyla Kenney (left) and libero Hattie Monson confer during the Redwings' sectional semifinal victory. Kenney led Benet with 9 kills Wednesday against Waubonsie Valley. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). Kyla Kenney doesn’t see the ball as much as last year when she led Benet in kills. But that’s OK with her. “Volleyball is a team sport,” said the 5-foot-10 junior outside hitter. “Last year, I felt like Ally (graduated setter VanEekeren) was setting me the whole time. I'm glad to know that we have other players who can score as well.“It's ni...
Hannah, Marist leave Crystal Lake Central behind in Fall Harvest Festival finale
Crystal Lake Central's Maddy McCormick hits against the block of Marist's Ellie Kurpeikis (10) and Kamryn Chaney (9) during the championship match of the Fall Harvest Festival at Plainfield Central. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Camryn Hannah took one look at Marist’s championship game opponent and knew the RedHawks were in for a fight.“That's something we identified during warm-ups,” said Marist’s 6-foot-2 outside hitter/setter. “They’re a big team. They were going to swing on us. So we knew we had to play defense, and I think that was somethi...
Lincoln-Way West reloads behind Vedder, Wegrzyn; Glenbard East growing, more
Lincoln-Way West libero Tyler Vedder, who could see time at outside hitter, is one of only two returning starters from last year's sectional semifinalist. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2020 boys' high school volleyball season with another set of team previews. Illprepvb.com provides the best in boys volleyball coverage throughout the season anywhere in the state.School: Downers Grove SouthConference: West Suburban GoldHead coach: Kurt Steuer (9th year) Last season’s highlights:...
Rosary getting ready for a new (2A) day; IC Prep reaches Silver at Tiger Classic
Jessica Gardella (17), Sarah Konovodoff (2), Paige Gardella (11) and their Rosary teammates hope to find success in the IHSA Class 2A tournament later this season. Rosary is among the schools that joined the exodus from Class 3A to 2A this season thanks to the IHSA’s new enrollment policy. But was it really that much of a blessing?Sure, Rosary will avoid perennial nemesis and Metro Suburban Conference foe St. Francis in the playoffs. Nazareth is out of the picture, too. “We’re excited about the opportunity to play in 2A this year...
McGuire, Benet erase big second-set deficit to top Minooka, win Scholastic Cup
Benet rallied from a 19-14 deficit in Game 2 to defeat Hailey Sperling (2) and Minooka in the championship match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) No one expected Benet to blow past Minooka 25-9 in the first game of their championship match Saturday at the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora.And likely no one expected Benet to find itself trailing 5-0, 10-5 and 19-14 in the second game. “I think the other team step...
Minooka stuns Lockport with late rally; Benet closes out Joliet Catholic
Lockport's Leena Ajibola (shown here earlier in the season against Plainfield North) had 7 kills for the Porters, but it wasn't enough as Minooka erased an 18-10 deficit in Game 2 to win the match in three sets. )Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMinooka was down, but not out.For a set-and-two-thirds, Lockport had its way with the host Indians. It appeared that the Porters were well on the way to a breakthrough victory. Not so fast. The Indians regrouped and ended the last two sets with combined bursts...
Sandburg, Stefanon twins stop Nazareth at Illprepvb.com/Crimson Classic
Sandburg celebrates a point during its semifinal win over Minooka Saturday at the Illprepvb.com/Crimson Classic hosted by Plainfield North. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Sandburg outside hitter Shelby Stefanon is not afraid to tell her setter when she’s feeling it.Especially since one of the setters in Sandburg’s 6-2 offense is her twin sister, Julia.“Sometimes she's like, ‘I'm feeling it. Get me the ball,’” Julia said“Yeah, yesterday it was like, ‘Set me more,’” Shelby replied. Julia knew just where she wanted to go with Sandburg clinging to ...