Kate Dean (left) calls older sister Karli "her best friend." (Cover photo by Douglas Cottle) Karli Dean is now a freshman at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. (Photo by Douglas Cottle) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.com TUSCOLA – As they seek to maintain a level-playing field, sports rule enforcers keep an eye on performance enhancers. Kate Dean, however, has surely found a performance enhancing loophole that will never be outlawed in volleyball: her big sister, Karli, a 6-foot-1 freshman middle hitter at the University of...
Illprepvb.com's look at the 2020 boys high school volleyball season starts today
Rockford Boylan's Nikos Zydakis (11) is one of four key returnees from a team that went 35-3 and reached a sectional semifinal last season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) The 2020 IHSA boys volleyball season officially kicks off with the first day of practice on Monday, March 9. Illprepvb.com begins its look at the 2020 boys' high school volleyball season today with our first set of team previews. Illprepvb.com will continue to provide the best in boys high school volleyball coverage throughout the season.School: Bolingbrook Conferenc...
IHSA board of directors OKs state series for boys volleyball this spring
Marist was the last boys state volleyball champion crown by the IHSA back in 2019. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). It’s on. The IHSA board of directors Wednesday approved a full state series for boys’ volleyball, adding the sectional and state final levels.Regional tournaments will be held June 7-10. The eight traditional boys’ volleyball sectionals will take place Saturday, June 12 and Tuesday, June 15. Sites are still being finalized. Schools that are interested in hosting are asked to contact Stacy Lambert slambert@ihsa.org at the IH...
Mother McAuley breaks into the win column, defeats visiting St. Francis
Mother McAuley earned its first win of the season Wednesday against visiting St. Francis. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMother McAuley knew the victory would come. The Mighty Macs just didn't know when.It came Wednesday evening as the Mighty Macs clicked like they believed they could and pulled away down the stretch of each set for a 25-17, 25-19 victory over visiting St. Francis. The win was the first of the season for McAuley (1-4), which likely had more than a few folks scrambling for the record books during their ina...
Tested, Tall, New Trier wants it all; Marmion eyes another league title, more
Colin Heath and New Trier are one of the top teams in Illinois this spring and seek the school's first boys' volleyball championship since 1996. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Note: Although Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzer’s most recent “stay at home” order extended school closings until April 8, Illprepvb.com will continue to publish content relevant to the 2020 high school boys’ volleyball season in the hope that it will be resumed at some point this spring.School: Marmion AcademyConference: Chicago Catholic League WhiteHead coach: Barb EbertLast ...
Stockton hopes to surprise despite key loss; Lucas, Young vie for city dominance
Stockton graduated several key players off last year's regional championship team, but hopes to build on a strong summer heading into the 2019 season. Illprepvb.com continues its coverage of the 2019 Illinois high school girls' volleyball season with another set of team previews. School: FentonConference: Upstate EightHead coach: David MelloLast season’s highlights: 24-12 overall (most wins since 1991), 3-3 in conference (Metro Suburban), lost to Glenbard East, 25-14, 25-14, in a Class 4A regional semifinal.Top returnees: senior middle ...
Benet’s 10-1 closing run in third set ends Marist’s reign at Wheaton Classic
Benet middle hitter Maeve Nelligan slams a kill past Wheaton Warrenville South's Kaileigh Ammons during the Redwings' quarterfinal victory Saturday at the Wheaton Classic. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Momentum. It’s fickle. Momentum is a cliché in volleyball. Every coach and every player talks about it. But it was never more applicable than in Saturday’s championship match of the Wheaton Classic at Wheaton Warrenville South.After Marist took a timeout trailing 14-10 to Benet in the third set of the championship match, the two-time defending to...
Don't mess with Hinsdale Central; WW South, Naperville Central, and more
Wheaton Warrenville South's Josh Gottlieb (left), who is committed to Loyola, will reunite with Zeo Meyer as the Tigers look to reverse last season's fortunes. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Note: Although Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzer’s recent “shelter-in-place” order extended school closings until April 8, Illprepvb.com will continue to publish content relevant to the 2020 high school boys’ volleyball season in the hope that it will be resumed at some point this spring.School: ElginConference: Upstate EightHead coach: Andy LeGoffLast season’s...
Brown, New Trier show ’em what they ‘can’ do to win Northside Classic crown
New Trier rallied from a 20-16 deficit and fought off two match points in the third set to defeat Oak Park-River Forest and win the Northside Classic Saturday at Glenbrook North. https://youtu.be/exxcEp93N_A New Trier showed ‘em.At full strength for the first time this season, New Trier rallied after squandering a 23-17 lead in Game 1 to defeat Oak Park-River Forest, 23-25, 27-25, 27-25, and claim the championship of the Northside Classic hosted by Glenbrook North Saturday in Northbrook. “O, my God,” said New Trier junior outside hitte...
Marist routs Benet to end Redwings’ perfect season, earn share of ESCC title
A huge crowd was on hand Tuesday to watch Marist blast error-prone Benet and hand the Redwings their first loss of the season. It had everything … except perhaps drama.A huge crowd. A recognition of teachers. A ring ceremony for the 2019 IHSA championship boys’ team (minus Marty Jepsen, who was the team’s heart and soul). A conference championship at stake.At one point in the second set, the officials even had to stop play to warn the Marist student section on the stage to stop relaying zone serving signals to the Marist players on the othe...