Sandburg junior Jeremiah Aro (airborne left) had 11 kills to pace the Eagles, but it wasn't enough as Homewood-Flossmoor prevailed Tuesday in Orland Park, 25-22, 18-25, 31-29. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWhen Homewood-Flossmoor opened the season by winning 18 of its first 20 matches, the Vikings looked like shoe-ins to topple the program’s season record for victories. However, after a down stretch, the record started to seem unattainable.But the Vikings dug deep and found a way to win a big Southwest S...

Gavin Gonzalez (3) and St. Francis were handed their first Catholic League loss Tuesday at Brother Rice. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThere is still a lot of fight in Brother Rice.Literally.Twin brothers John and Zach Mikrut warmed up for the Crusaders' big match against St. Francis by getting in a fight with each other at practice on Monday. That certainly fired up the pair as they took their frustrations out on the Spartans, combining for 21 kills and 4 blocks to lead Brother Rice to a 25-22, 25-...

Glenbard West dropped the first set to Oak Park-River Forest Tuesday in Glen Ellyn, then rallied from a late deficit in the third to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comA bus delay caused Oak Park-River Forest to arrive more than an hour late for its showdown with Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn on Tuesday.When the highly anticipated match finally got started, it proved to be worth the wait.Senior opposite Adam Graham smashed all nine of his kills in the final two ...

Erik Gonzalez (3) had 7 kills in Lockport's 25-20, 25-22 victory Thursday over Lincoln-Way West. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorYou know the old adage … share and share alike?Well, Lockport ain’t gonna be sharin’ this one.The Porters defeated Lincoln-Way West, 25-20, 25-22, Thursday in Lockport to clinch the outright Southwest Suburban Conference championship for the first time in program history.Lockport earned a share of the conference title in 2021 when the Porters, Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way Wes...

Barrington's 6-10 outside hitter Cole Hartke is helping the Broncos find their way after they experienced a slow start to the 2024 season. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.comThere is a simple formula in volleyball that states, “energy plus fun equals wins.”Barrington did not display much energy at the beginning of the season and certainly wasn’t having a lot of fun.Cole Hartke is helping to change that.“We had a rough start,” said Barrington’s 6-10 outside hitter. “We weren’t playing to expectations. We really needed to t...

Junior middle hitter Matthew Swiatkowski (9) and the Benet Redwings competed in the tournament at Metea Valley on Saturday. On the home page, Geneva's Jack Malley (left) tries to get a kill past a crowd at the net at the Metea Valley tournament. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor The heavily-bandaged right hand of York’s Jack Bute is testament to the power of Barrington’s 6-10 outside hitter Cole Hartke. Bute suffered an injury to his hand trying to block Hartke during club practice a few months ago.Hartke...

Loyola Academy's Jack Lopez (10), who led the Ramblers to the championship of the 20th Annual Tiger Classic, is this week's Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhat would former Loyola Academy and Pepperdine great and 2014 Sun-Times Player of the Year David Wieczorek think about Jack Lopez’s performance last weekend at the 20th Annual Tiger Classic?“He was smiling all the way from the beaches of California,” said Loyola coach Lionel Ebeling. Lopez had 61 k...

Loyola Academy (near court) extended its season-opning win streak to 17 by defeating Lincoln-Way West, 25-18, 25-21, to win the 20th Annual Tiger Classic Saturday in Wheaton. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLoyola Academy coach Lionel Ebeling wasn’t making excuses after the Ramblers dropped their first set of the season to Lake Park in Saturday’s semifinals at the 20th Annual Tiger Classic hosted by Wheaton Warrenville South.But …“What's amazing is that we have yet to play with our six or seven guys in our...

SPVB 16 Elite won the 16 Open division at last weekend's 2024 JVA World Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky. LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – Down two starters? No problem.At least it wasn’t last weekend for Sports Performance 16 Elite, which played without 6-1 setter Ellie Stiernagle (Benet Academy), who is still recovering from a hand injury, and 6-0 outside hitter Haley Burgdorf (St. Charles North), who was on loan to SPVB 18 Elite.  SPVB 16 Elite (8-1) shook off a second-day, 25-21, 16-25, 15-11 loss to Tri-State Elite 16 Blue (Cincinnati, Ohi...

St. Charles East boys coach Matt Caputo won his first game at his alma mater thanks to the efforts of Adi Nakarani (1), Alex Temple (13), NiharPatel (2) and Andrew Heilers (11). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorMaybe it was some of that old Wheaton Warrenville South magic rubbing off.Matt Caputo, who was the starting libero on Wheaton Warrenville South’s 2007 IHSA championship team, is in his first year as boys head coach at St. Charles East. He brought his Saints to Wheaton on Thursday to compete in the 20th Annual Tiger Classic.Would...