Benet outside hitter Gabija Staniskis redirects a kill past a pair of Wheaton Warrenville South defenders during quarterfnal play Saturday at the Wheaton Classic. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBenet Academy’s girls were anxious to wrap up play Saturday at the Wheaton Classic with homecoming festivities ongoing at the school’s Lisle campus.But all that went out the window after the Redwings dropped the first set of the championship match to No. 1 seed Lyons Township.“After we lost the first set, we knew homeco...
Normal U-High bests St. Thomas More in showdown of 1A, 3A state powers
Sophomore outside hitter Levyn Snow (5) and the Normal U-High Pioneers, coming off a 3-2 performance at last weekend's Illprepvb.com Plainfield North Crimson Classic, rallied to defeat defending IHSA Class 1A champion St. Thomas More on Monday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – The question of how far apart elite teams are in different classes got an answer on Monday when reigning IHSA Class 1A champion Champaign St. Thomas More traveled 58 miles to visit Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked Normal University Hi...
Montini putting the puzzle together, befuddles visiting Genoa-Kingston
York's Emelyn Stettin tries to work around the block of Glenbard West's Penelope Vilkama during the team's West Suburban Silver opener Tuesday in Glen Ellyn. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comDon't count out Montini.Led by a monster match from senior Jordan Heatherly, the defending IHSA Class 2A champions showed that despite a .500 record over their first 10 matches, they aren't done yet. Heatherly had 9 kills, 4 blocks, 17 assists and 14 digs as Montini never trailed and held off a furious rally in the sec...
Marist soul-searching sears St. Francis; Metamora vexes Normal West in 3A tussle
Metamora sophomore Esma Frieden (8) banged out 22 kills to lead the Redbirds to a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19 victory Tuesday at Normal West. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) CHICAGO -- Between 2017-19, the Marist girls’ volleyball team lost a total of seven matches in winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles and then placing third.Last Saturday, the RedHawks dropped two matches in a row and finished fourth at the Crimson Classic, which led them to do some soul-searching.“I feel like it motivated me to be more of an impact player,” said Marist outside h...
Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year preparing for freshman year at Penn State
Nazareth graduate Katie Hurta changed her college plans in February and opted to play for former Mother McAuley great Katie Schumacher-Cawley at Penn State. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Katie Hurta helped to lead her Nazareth team past Belvidere North in the IHSA Class 3A championship match last November. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comIndiana’s loss is Pennsylvania’s gain.A year ago, Katie Hurta was preparing for her senior season at Nazareth. In the 12 months that followed, much has happened, including a decision by the 2021-22 Ga...
Naperville North celebrates Urban's 500th win, beats WW South for victory No. 501
Six-foot-5 middle hitter Ava Bogan (7) and the Loyola Ramblers, who lost to Glenbrook South, 25-19, 25-23, in the semifinals of the New Trier tournament Saturday, turned the tables on the Titans Wednesday, defeating Glenbrook South, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comNaperville North coach Jennifer Urban recorded her 500th career victory when the Huskies beat Rolling Meadows on Friday.The Huskies recognized the achievement with a brief announcement on Wednesday, then went out and got Ur...
Metea Valley's Hutson exits loss to Benet after suffering right shoulder injury
Metea Valley's Kira Hutson (far left), who led the Mustangs to an IHSA Class 4A championship last fall, exited Monday's game against Benet Academy after her right shoulder popped out and back in after diving for a ball in ther back row during the first set. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBenet Academy’s 6-3 junior outside hitter Ava Novak was looking forward to Monday’s meeting with defending IHSA Class 4A champion Metea Valley and 6-5 Florida recruit Kira Hutson.“We want to get the best competition we can,” N...
Barrington rolls to Jacobs title; Glenbrook South stays perfect as summer ends
Willowbrook outside hitter Natalie Cipriano (1) and her teammates reached the cxhampionship match of their own tournament Saturday, but Metea Valley stoped the Warriors in the finale of the eight-team tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAbout 30 miles separated Barrington and Glenbrook South at their respective tournaments Saturday.In eight weeks or so – should history repeat itself – that distance could be measured in feet.Barrington, which ousted Glenbrook South, 25-21, 25-18, from the IHSA Class 4A ...
(Almost) everything you need to know about the 2022 girls' season from A-L
Lincolnwood returns six of its top eight players from last season's 32-6-1 campaign that ended with a 25-17, 25-19 loss to Brown County in a Class A sectional semifinal. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe real fun begins tomorrow, so today Illprepvb.com takes a look at some of the teams and players who will be gracing gymnasiums throughout Illinois this fall with their athleticism, cohesiveness and determination. Due to the number of teams responding to our request for information and the amount of information we have gathered, we ...
Barrington awakens from slumber, rallies to beat Lockport at Andrew invite
Barrington defeated Lockport at the Andrew invite Saturday to improve to 12-0. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBarrington’s 6-1 junior setter/opposite Jenna Meitzler knows when it’s coming.“The first five points (of a match) are really big for us, because if we go down during the first five points, we just let them run the next 10,” she said.So, when Lockport jumped out to a 5-1 lead in Game 1 of the championship match Saturday at Andrew, it was no surprise to Meitzler and her teammates to find themselves down 15-5 before Barrington c...