Naperville Central's Grace Butler, Alexandra Vanwestrienen, Nicole Smith and Kayla Closset. There’s nothing like playing in your home gym to cure what’s been ailing you, even if it’s not really “home.”No. 4 Benet snapped a two-match losing streak Thursday in the school’s historic Alumni Gym, where the Redwings’ boys basketball team won a state-record 102 consecutive games from November 26, 1975 until January 24, 1987.Benet moved the varsity game to the old gym to make way for freshman “A” and “B” games in the main gym. The change of scen...

No. 2-ranked Benet won its 12th consecutive regional title Thursday at Oswego East. Kyla Kenney was just a freshman on Benet’s varsity last year, but she remembers the 25-20, 25-20 season-ending loss to Minooka in the sectional finals. “We lost to them last year and in our gut we just wanted to get them back,” said the 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter. “We all put in the fight for it. It started with a pass, then I kept asking Ally (setter Van Eekeren) for the ball.” With the second set of Thursday’s championship game of the Oswe...

Rita Grassano (middle) and St. Ignatius advanced to the Class 4A Reavis Regional championship match.                                                                                                        Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius By Randy Whalen Special to Illprepvb.com This is the time of the season to be playing your best volleyball. That’s what St. Ignatius has been doing. The Wolfpack won for the 10th time in its past 14 contests and advanced to the title match of the Class 4A Reavis Regional with a 25-13, 25-19 victory over...

Naperville North advanced to the finals of its own regional with a 25-17, 25-8 victory over Lemont Tuesday. Will the third time be a charm? Or more heartbreak for Naperville North? The Huskies and DuPage Valley Conference rival Neuqua Valley advanced to the championship match of the Naperville North Class 4A Regional on Thursday by handily winning their semifinal matches Tuesday. Naperville North overwhelmed youthful Lemont 25-17, 25-8 in the first semifinal, while Neuqua Valley shrugged off a valiant Game 2 effort by Plainfiel...

Despite heavy graduation losses, Payson-Seymour still has its sights set on repeating as Class 1A state champion. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comLet's do it again, like we did last fall.With the postseason opening this week, that could be the rallying cry for last year’s two Class 1A state finalist girls’ volleyball teams. Last fall, Payson Seymour capped off an incredible run during which it only lost three sets all year with a 25-12, 27-25 victory over Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg in the title match at Redbird Arena on the campus...

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Marist's Katie Mather, Avery Jedry, Camryn Hannah, Maddie Arundel and Mairead Boyle. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMarist’s girls volleyball team, which has dropped only four matches during the past two seasons, obviously isn't used to losing.But earlier this week, a loss to Benet Academy may have lit the spark under the RedHawks as they prepare to defend their Class 4A state championship.It certainly looked like it Thursday as the RedHawks dominated all areas in knocking off No. 2 Nazareth 25-14, 25-14 in the final East Suburban ...

After sitting out Friday over safety concerns, Montini went 4-0 Saturday at the Latin tournament. By Randy Whalen Special to Illprespvb.com The 39th Annual Latin Invitational didn't go exactly as scheduled. But when all was said and done, many smaller school volleyball teams got a taste of some good competition as the postseason approaches. The tournament was scheduled for eight teams with pool play starting Friday. However, when the verdict in the case involving Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in the shooting death of 17-year-o...