There are plenty of storylines to watch when the IHSA tournament gets underway Monday at 32 regional sites throughout the state. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) The IHSA boys volleyball tournament gets under way Monday, May 20, and when the dust settles May 31 with the eight sectional survivors gathering at Hoffman Estates, some of the best teams in Illinois will have been making vacation plans for more than a week. Meanwhile, there are many questions that will be answered along the way: Will all top eight sectional seeds reach the Elite Eight? W...
Murphysboro, Massac County tie for SIRR Ohio Division title
Massac County and Murphysboro will share the Southern Illinois River-to-River Ohio Division championship after both teams won their final league matches Thursday. It came down the final day of conference play, and both teams held up their end. Five-time defending conference champion Murphysboro earned a share of the Southern Illinois River-to-River Ohio Division championship by defeating Benton 25-18, 25-21 Thursday. Murphysboro will share the conference championship with Massac County, a 25-14, 25-7 winner over West Frankfor...
Nazareth adds new face to familiar cast in quest to make run at Class 3A title
Nazareth saw its 2018 season end with a loss to St. Francis in a Class 3A sectional semifinal. Six of seven starters from that team return in 2019. Nazareth Academy has one goal this fall, and that's to finish the job. Nazareth middle hitter and BYU recruit Leilani Dodson Despite many years of success under Wayne Saunders and Melissa Masterson, the Roadrunners have yet to advance to Redbird Arena. Nazareth has only one sectional title (2009) to its credit, and that season ended with a 13-25, 25-15, 25-13 loss to Crystal Lake Central ...
Ketelhut strengthens Plainfield North lineup; we also look at Newton, St. Ignatius & more
Six-foot-3 middle hitter Gretchen Ketehut has recovered from injuries suffered in a car accident during the summer of 2018 and joins returning starters (from left) Anna Gawron, Lilly Summers, Ali Jansen and Ella Wrobel to give Plainfield North one of the top lineups in Illinois. School: Aurora Central Catholic Conference: Metro Suburban BlueHead coach: Claire GartlandLast season’s highlights: 13-19 overall, 0-5 in conference,lost to Wheaton Academy,25-17, 21-25, 25-18, in a Class 3A regional semifinal. Top returnees: 5-9 junior outside hitt...
Mother McAuley denies No. 16 Montini, clinches share of GCAC Red crown
It's been a season of ups and downs for Mother McAuley, but Tuesday was decidedly an "up." By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com When you have a program that has captured 15 state championships, including one just two years ago, it's easy to lose track of how many conference championships have been won along the way. But in a season of ups and downs, it was still an accomplishment for the Mother McAuley volleyball team to clinch at least a share of another one Tuesday night. That's what the Mighty Macs did as they showed a spark...
Lincoln-Way Central exploits Richards’ service woes to extend winning streak
Lincoln-Way Central's Jack Yurkanin had 5 klls and 3 aces Tuesday to lead the Knights past Richards. (photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com In a match where the two teams combined for 19 service errors, what was a big factor in Lincoln-Way Central pulling out a win? Serving, of course. The Knights stayed aggressive in their serving and went on to a 25-22, 25-19 victory over Richards in a southside nonconference tussle on Tuesday in New Lenox. With its third straight win, Lincoln-Way Central (8-8) climb...
Marian Catholic dominates, but can’t put away Benet
Marian Catholic's Jaya Hall, London Hatch, Temitayo Thomas-Ailara, Savka Popovic and Lauren Hatch. Benet led very little Tuesday against visiting Marian Catholic. But the Redwings led when it mattered. No. 3 Benet (24-4 overall, 5-1 in the East Suburban Catholic) trailed the entire first set and found itself down two set points at 24-22. The Redwings faced an even bigger deficit in Game 2, trailing 18-12 after a 7-0 run by the Spartans. But a kill and an ace by Benet’s 6-foot sophomore Rachel Muisenga followed by a Marian Catholic ...
Young Normal West goes the distance as part of the learning process
Montini (6-4) finished 2-1 at the Lyons quadrangular Friday, losing for the second time in three meetings with York in the past 10 days, 25-19, 21-25, 17-15. It’s likely that the Normal West volleyball team pulled into its school parking lot sometime after 11:00 p.m. Friday night.The two-and-a-half hour bus trip from the western suburbs of Chicago certainly gave the young Wildcats a lot of time to think about their three matches at the Lyons quadrangular. Although Normal West dropped all three matches, it’s a sure bet that most of their th...
Way-too-early look at some of the best girls high school teams in each class in 2019
Can Marist become the first team in IHSA to repeat in Class 4A? That will be one of the storylines to follow during the 2019 Illinois girls high school volleyball season. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Food for thought...The 2019 Illinois high school girls volleyball season doesn’t kick off until August 26. But it’s never too early to speculate who some of the best teams in each class will be. A few notable schools have changed classes in 2019 thanks to the IHSA’s new classification system and the success factor, the latter affecting two school...
‘Weird’ is the new normal for Benet in its bid for fourth title in nine years
Necessity forced Benet to juggle its lineup in 2018 and play several players out of their normal positions. However, that won't be the case this fall. Quick. Without cheating. Who was the only Illinois team to defeat Class 4A champion Marist last season?If you guessed Benet Academy, give yourself a mighty slap on the back.In between a 25-23, 23-25, 25-19 loss in the championship match of the Tiger Classic on September 15 and a 25-18, 25-15 defeat in an IHSA Class 4A semifinal on November 9, the Redwings took down the eventual state cham...