Barrington's 6-11 junior and tournament MVP Cole Hartke had 9 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces to help the No. 2-seeded Broncos defeat top-seeded Lincoln-Way East, 25-18, 25-19, in the championship match of the Wheaton Warrenville South Tiger Classic Saturday in Wheaton. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBarrington setter Carsten Wegh wasn’t sure what to expect Saturday.“We came in here and we didn't really expect to go too far,” he said. “We started the season rough, and Thursday (night in pool play) was ugly. We'd a...
Nine boys, five girls from Great Lakes Region named to national development team
Benet Academy sophomore Lynney Tarnow was one of five girls from the Great Lakes Region recently named to the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program roster. On the home page, New Trier's David Wolff was one of nine boys from the Great Lakes Region selected for the program. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) In 2021, USA Volleyball launched the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Under NTDP, young volleyball athletes who aspire to take the next step on their path to the podium have the opportunity to be identified, developed a...
Multi-talented Lincoln derails St. Ignatius; Benet, McAuley headed for 4A rematch
Lincoln's Alyssa Company slips a kill past St. Ignatius' Gabby Williams during the Railsplitters' Class 3A semifinal victory Friday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – The battle for supremacy between specialists and generalists in volleyball seemed to have been decided in the former group’s favor decades ago.Lincoln, however, continued to make a case in the Class 3A IHSA tournament semifinals at CEFCU Arena on Friday that multisport athletes have yet to surrender.With all-staters from other sports lend...
Oswego East starts anew, Newman gets bumped up to 2A; more ’23 previews
By virute of its fourth-place finish in Class 1A last fall, (Sterling) Newman Central Catholic was subject to the IHSA's 1.65 multiplier and will compete in the Class 2A tournament for the next two years. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor The Illinios girls high school volleyball season begins in earnest in just a few days, and today Illprepvb.com continues its annual series of previews of the teams, players and coaches whose ultimate goal is a trip to Redbird (now CEFCU) Arena on the campus ...
The boys take center stage at the 2024 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge
SPVB 16 Elite's Greyson Covay (24) slips a kill past a pair of Predators 18U Boys Legacy (Kitchener, California) defenders while Adam Hartung (57) and Benjamin Brown (23) look on. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/mUr4NvUXil4 By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhile most Illinois boys’ club teams have disbanded until mid-June to prepare for the spring high school season, a few die-hard souls gathered prior to going their separate ways for the 2024 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora.H...
Who’s in? Who’s out? Here is the final list of Illinois girls USAV qualifiers
Club Fusion 17 Gino is one of 12 teams from the Great Lakes Region that will be competing in the various 17s age divisions at McCormick Place this summer. 2023 Girls USAV Qualifiers (updated 6/6)Who’s in? Who’s out?The 2023 USAV Girls Junior 14s-17s National Championship will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, June 28-July 6, the 2023 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championship will be held at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 29-July 6, the 2023 AAU Girls Junior National Championships will be...
Schneiderman paces Forreston, new faces at St. Charles East; more ’23 previews
Setter Sarah Musial i(5) s one of only a few returning players for 2022 IHSA Class 4A semifinalist St. Charles East. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor The Illinios girls high school volleyball season begins in earnest in just a few days, and today Illprepvb.com continues its annual series of previews of the teams, players and coaches whose ultimate goal is a trip to Redbird (now CEFCU) Arena on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal. Here is nearly everything you need to know about m...
Arizona Storm brings the thunder, denies 1st Alliance 16 Gold a national title
1st Alliance 16 Gold reached the championship match of the 16 Open division at the USAV Girls Junior National Championship at McCormick Place on Thursday, but suffered a heartbreaking 27-25, 25-23 loss to sixth-seeded Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (Phoenix, Arizona). By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comA journey that started last November ended Thursday before a packed crowd on a highlighted court at McCormick Place. There, the 1st Alliance 16 Gold volleyball team lived up to its billing as the top-ranked team in the country and advanced...
Simon Bratt, Wheaton Warrenville South light up Lyons for fourth win in row
Wheaon Warrenville South made it four in a row to start the young season, defeating visiting Lyons Township, 25-11, 25-21, on Thursday. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorYou never want to take any opponent lightly, but even with three earlier games on the schedule, Wheaton Warrenville South’s Simon Bratt admitted that Thursday’s visit by Lyons Township was the game the Tigers had been pointing to all week.“This entire week, as a team, we were looking forward to this,” Bratt said. “They (Lyons Township) were really good last year. I w...
Catching up with the girls’ club scene, including rankings and qualifiers
SPVB 18 White dropped only two sets while going 9-0 and winning the 18 Club division at last weekend's JVA World Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s time to catch up with the girls’ club teams from Illinois or that feature several players from Illinois.To date, 11 teams in the 18s age group, ten 17s teams and six 16s have punched their tickets to the 2023 USAV Girls 18s Junior National Championship in Columbus, Ohio, on April 28-30, and the 2023 USAV Girls Junior 14s-17s National Championship at ...