Benet Academy remained unbeaten in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tuesday, defeating Marian Catholic despite losing Dom Krzeczkowski (second from right) to a stomach virus early in the second set. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWith 6-8 outside hitter and leading attackerDominic Krzeczkowski battling a stomach virus and exiting the match midway through the second set Tuesday, Benet Academy coach Hector Cano was looking for a few heroes.Enter Reed Hefley and sophomore Lukas Carlsen.Hefley provided 19 assists, 7 kills and an ace,...
Who’s going to Baltimore? No. 1 seed VC United heads list of local hopefuls
Katie Scherer and her 1st Alliance 18 Gold teammates are the only local competitors in the the 18 Open division at this weekend's USA Volleyball Girls 18's Junior National Championship in Baltimore, Maryland. On the homepage is Sky High Adidas 18 Elite's Ruth Ziegler. (File photos by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Twelve area teams will be heading to Baltimore, Maryland, this weekend for the USA Volleyball Girls 18's Junior National Championship. It’s the final stop for many of these girls ...
Glenbard West, Xzavion Willett smack Marist; L-W West rules Downers South
Lake Park's Dylan Roszak tries to get past the Maine South block in a Silver bracket semifinal at the Richard Griesheim Invitational hosted by Downers Grove Soth on Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThe opening set of Saturday's showdown between top-ranked Glenbard West and No. 2 Marist at the Brother Rice Smack Attack showed why the two teams are the best in the state. Like a heavyweight fight, the teams exchanged blows and were tied at every point between 7-7 and 17-17. Then came the X-...
Homewood-Flossmoor goes overtime (and then some) to overcome Sandburg
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...
Mikrut twins put the fight in Brother Rice, which applies a knockout to St. Francis
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 stays under control, rallies to defeat Oak Park-River Forest
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 ...
Share? Not this time as Lockport beats Lincoln-Way West for outright league title
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...
The fun is back at Barrington thanks to the leadership of senior standout Cole Hartke
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...
York rallies late in third set, slips past Barrington for Northside Classic title
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’s Jack Lopez is the Ultimate VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Week
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...