MOD B18 Blue's Connor Durst (Glenbrook North) slaps a kill past a pair of MVC 18-Greek defenders durng the north shore club's 18 Open semifinal loss Sunday at McCormick Place. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe aroma of cheddar, brats and Blatz permeated the air last weekend at McCormick Place.Thank goodness for a little breath of fresh air from SPVB B15 Elite.There was a simple reason clubs from north of the border dominated the 2023 AAU/JVA Windy City Round-Up, with Milwaukee-based clubs winning three of th...
1st Alliance 17 Black wins AAU 17 Club title; MOD Elite G17 Blue third in Premier
1st Alliance 17 Black rallied from down a set to defeat VCNebraska 17 Black and win the 17 Club division national championship Sunday in Orlando, Florida. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorORLANDO, Florida – Paint it black. As in 1st Alliance 17 Black.The Woodridge crew rallied after dropping the first set to defeat VCNebraska 17 Black (Lincoln, Nebraska), 18-25, 26-24, 15-7, to win the 17 Club division Sunday at the 50th annual AAU Girls National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida.After losing the first set, 1st Alliance...
There’s no stopping SPVB 18 Red, which wins its third straight AAU championship
Eastside Volleyball 18U Ninjas finished third in the 18 Club division at the 50th AAU Girls National Volleyball Championships in Orlando. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorORLANDO, Florida – “Someone stop me. Oh, someone please, just try and stop me.” – Katharine Hepburn in the 1938 movie classic, “Holiday,” with Cary Grant.There must be something to this red(head) mystique.Seeded fifth in the field of 58 teams, Sports Performance 18 Red won its third consecutive national championship, defeating Mill City 18s (Lowell, Massachusetts), 25-...
No turning back SPVB/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year Chance Shampine
Chance Shampine overcame a serious back injury as a junior to lead Glenbrook South to its first IHSA quarterfinal berth since 2014 and become the first Player of the Year from the Glenview school since Sam Kim earned the honor from the Chicago Sun-Times in 2003. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comChance Shampine’s junior season didn’t go the way he expected.His senior season didn’t go the way anybody else expected.The Glenbrook South star missed more than half of the 2022 season with a serious back injury.“I...
Presenting the Sports Performance VBC Illprepvb.com Coaches Hall of Fame Class of ’23
Legendary coach Larry Sample guided Jacksonville to an IHSA Class AA championship, the first won by a downstate school in the big-school class, in 1988, then later coached (Chatham) Glenwood for three years before retiring following the 2008 season. (Photo courtesy of the Springfield State Journal-Register). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFive years ago, Illprepvb.com was approached to collaborate on the creation of an Illinois High School Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame.Unfortunately, at the time, nothing ever came of that phone call...
Timothy Christian dons pink, but could they be seeing red in less than a month?
Timothy Christian players and their fans were decked out in pink Wednesday to raise cancer awareness, after which they paused to celebrate another Trojans' victory. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorPlaying without 6-3 junior outside hitter and University of Texas recruit Abby VanderWal for the first 10 matches of the season – a stretch during which the Trojans went 7-3 and lost to rival and probable sectional foe IC Catholic Prep -- might not have been the worst thing to happen to Timothy Christian.“I think we were able to learn and bui...
Normal U-High strongarms Rochester in early Central State Eight showdown
Normal University High sophomore Levyn Snow (5) helped her No. 2-state ranked team down No. 10 Rochester, 25-21, 25-17, on Thursday at Normal. Attempting to block were Rochester's Grace Jameson (11) and Charlotte Beatty (12). (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – In general, Rochester’s volleyball team knew where trouble was going to come from on Thursday.Knowing specifically where to place blockers and passers, however, against a team with as many weapons as Normal University High proved problematic as...
From ‘Oh, it’s just Westville,’ to ‘Oh, no! It’s Westville!’
The Westville Tigers started the season with a bang, winning their own tournament without dropping a set. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThere is a lot of joy in Westville these days.More may be on the way if Ella Miller and her teammates have their way.The Tigers, 11-0 following Thursday's 25-14, 25-16 victory over Vermilion Valley foe Hoopeston, are off to the fastest start in program history and are creating a buzz around Westville, a town of 3,120 just south of Danville and close to the Indiana state line.“It’s really exciting ...
Slow-starting Benet finishes fast, beats Normal West to win Scholastic Cup
Lynney Tarnow (12) had 10 kills, 3 blocks and an ace in Benet Academy's victory in the championship match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup on Saturday at the Great lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSlow starts are enough to drive any coach mad.But it’s not how you start that matters, it’s how you finish. And Benet Academy finished with a bang.After falling behind 14-6 in the opening set of Saturday’s championship match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup tournament at t...
This ‘Sting’ really hurts: 1st Alliance 15 Gold falls just short in National title bid
1st Alliance 15 Gold reached the finals of the 15 National division at the 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship at McCormick Place on Saturday before falling to MKE Sting 15 Gold. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorRiding high in April. Shot down in May.Something had to give when 1st Alliance 15 Gold and MKE Sting 15 Gold met in Saturday’s championship match of the 15 National division at the 2023 USAV Girls Junior National Championship at McCormick Place.The teams had split two previous matches, with 1st Alliance 15 Gold wi...