(Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com Before the Marist boys’ volleyball team kicked off its season, there was one bit of business that took place on the court – a ring ceremony for the last fall’s Marist girls volleyball team, which captured its second consecutive state championship. Watching the girl’s team honored planted a seed for RedHawk boys’ star player, Marty Jepsen. “Oh yeah, oh my gosh, that would mean so much to me,” Jepsen said. “Not for me as an individual, but for the memories of being with...

Each week during the season, Illprepvb.com will name a "Player of the Week" selected from nominations provided by Illinois volleyball coaches. Coaches can nominate their players by providing a 100-150 word summary of their achievement and a large quality headshot and sending it to illprepvb@gmail.com by noon on Sunday of the week for which they wish to nominate a player.This week’s Illprepvb.com "Player of the Week" is 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter Annie Bart from Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein. Bart registered 46 kills, 6 se...

Ceiling redirections, service errors and momentum swings. Tuesday’s nonconference matchup between St. Francis and host Wheaton North had them all. But the biggest factor may have been a seemingly innocent 5-point run by St. Francis midway through Game 2 following a Wheaton North service error that allowed the Spartans to break an 11-11 tie and put some distance between themselves and the Falcons. No. 10 St. Francis seized the momentum and scored 23 of the next 30 points on its way to a 19-25, 25-17, 25-19 win over No. 20 Wheaton N...

Prairie Ridge overcame the loss of setter Jayden Otto (ankle) to win the Wheaton Classic Silver division. Any chance Marist’s players had to be on time for their Homecoming celebration Saturday night was squashed when the title match against Benet at the Wheaton Classic hosted by Wheaton Warrenville South started nearly two hours later than the scheduled 5:00 p.m. start time.Was it worth the wait?You’d have to ask the RedHawks, but an educated guess would be an emphatic “Yes.”No. 1-ranked Marist (16-0) rallied from a 14-11 deficit in the...

Host Plainfield North hopes to make some noise at the Illprepvb.com Crosstown Showdown. Bigger, better and tougher top to bottom. The Illprepvb.com Crosstown Classic at Plainfield North has expanded to 32 teams this year from 24 teams in 2017 and has added more of the top teams in the state, providing back-to-back nights of some of best high school volleyball anywhere. “The Crosstown Showdown will be bigger and better,” Plainfield North coach Matt Slechta said. “With the addition of eight more teams, we now have a 32-team field tha...

Maybe it was the Hawaiian shirts. “It was a good opener for us,” said Downers Grove North’s 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter Griffen Liszka. “Everyone played really well. I think we exceeded our team’s expectations for the first game.” But what about the Hawaiian shirts? “The whole Hawaiian thing is kind of the staple of our team,” he said. “But we usually do things for every match.” If the rest of the season goes as well for No. 17 Downers Grove North as its opener did Monday against visiting Naperville Central, the Trojans m...

Sky High Adidas 17 Black won the Windy City Power League 18/17s Division after holding a slim 4-point lead over Michio Chicago 18 National heading into Sunday's final league date. Sky High 17 Adidas 17 Black wrapped up the Windy City Power League 18/17s Division title before it even took the floor Sunday. Sky High held a 4-point advantage over its nearest competitor, Michio Chicago 18 National, heading into the final day of league play Sunday at the 1st Alliance Volleyball Center in Woodridge. And when Michio Chicago 17 National su...

Jack Howard returns from an injury-shortened junior campaign to lead Loyola in the Catholic League. (photo by Dave Ruggles) 2019 boys volleyball previews continue to trickle in to Illprepvb.com. Here's a look at Joliet Central, Loyola, Oswego and Plainfield North. School: Joliet Central Conference: Southwest Prairie Head coach: Kris Lundgren Last season’s highlights: 5-26 overall, 1-12 in conference, lost to Providence, 22-25, 25-15, 25-13, in a regional quarterfinal. Top returnees: 6-1 senior outside hitter Kolby Thompson, 5-7 sen...

Fusion 18 Red's 21-25, 25-23, 15-13 victory Saturday over Michio Chicago 18 National gave Sky High 17 Adidas a little breathing room in the race for the Windy City Power League 18/17s Division title. “Sometimes volleyball is hard … “… and it continues to be,” said Sky High Adidas 17 Black coach Michelle Jakubowski. Sky High Adidas 17 Black had to grind it out through three three-set matches, but the team from Crystal Lake inched closer to winning the Windy City Power League 18/17s Division on Saturday when its closest competito...