The Taylorville Tornado3s are surrounded by their fans after knocking off No. 1-ranked Normal U-High at the (Chatham) Glenwood Class 3A Supersectional. (Photo by Randy Sharer) At (Chatham) GlenwoodCHATHAM – Down a set and trailing 23-17 in Game 2, Taylorville needed a lot of things to go right in order to upset Normal University High in the Chatham Glenwood Class 3A Supersectional on Friday.The stars improbably aligned as Taylorville pulled out a 22-25, 26-24, 25-23 shocker over U-High, which came in ranked No. 1 by Illprepvb.com.“We w...
Presenting the 2022 Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Special Mention Team
Oswego East's Vivian Campbell (far court) led the Wolves to a Southwest Prairie Conference title and one of the best seasons in school historty. On the home page is Joliet Catholic's Ava Neushwander. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we are pleased to announce the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com 2022 Girls All-State Volleyball Special Mention Team. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom as high school stu...
‘The Generator’ sparks Lincoln-Way East over Glenbard West in ’22 title rematch
Parker Moorhead had 10 kills in Glenbard West' loss Thursday to Lincoln-Way East in a rematch of last year's IHSA championship match. (file photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comLincoln-Way East star Tyler Walenga has a nickname for fellow senior Joey Glennon.“We like to call Joey 'The Generator,’” Walenga said. “He generates so much energy at the perfect time, all the time.“He’s got a high motor and is a great player. Whenever we need him, he always delivers.”Glennon lived up to his moniker on Thursday, delivering 1...
Aquin feels no pressure in 1A; G-K's Pierce puts dagger in IC Catholic's 2A title bid
Alayna Pierce (16) had 18 kills to lead Genoa-Kingston past IC Catholic Prep in the Class 2A championship match Saturday at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor NORMAL -- Genoa-Kingston’s Alayna Pierce didn’t have the kind of performance she had hoped for in the Cogs’ semifinal victory Friday over Chillicothe IVC. The 5-foot-11 junior had 8 kills, but those came at the expense of 38 attempts and 9 errors for a -.025 hitting percentage.So, Pierce went back to the drawing board.“At practice this mor...
Illprepvb.com presents a first look at Illinois' top 2023 club teams … the 18s
(On the home page) SPVB 18 Elite and SPVB 18 Kahl tangle at the Great Lakes Volleybal Center in 2022. (Above) Marist's Kamryn Chaney (far court) returns for 1st Alliance 18 Gold along with six other players who won a national USAV championship as 17s. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFirst, congratulations to former Mother McAuley great Kayla Caffey, who played in her second NCAA Division I national championship in two years when Texas defeated Louisville on December 17.A 2016 graduate of McAuley, Caffey was gr...
Recruiting 102: What You Can Do To Help College Coaches Find You
Illprepvb.com 2022 Player of the Year Lucy Arndt of tiny Aquin Catholic in Freeport, who plays club for VC United VBC, will attend Southeast Missouri State in the fall. VC United formed a recruiting support team headed by Courtney Slinko and Lauren Hansen to work directly with their athletes throughout their recruiting journey. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Editor's note: This is a reprint of an article that first appeared on Illprepvb.com in June 2021. We tried to verify/update the information provided by Peter Gustin, My Recruiting Assistan...
White & Co. rock power league seeding; Sandt says 'no mas' to title match losses
SPVB 15 Elite's Ellie Stiernagle (77) attempts to get past the block of Adidas G15 Adidas' Bridget Ferriter (3) and Avery Maddox (14) Sunday at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. On the home page, SPVB 18 Elite's Anna Murphy skies over the net for a kill im a match against Balance 18 White. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorPrepvolleyball.com National Class of 2024 Player of the Year. Volleyballmag.com second-team All-American.The accolades keep pouring in for 1st Alliance 17 Gold’s Ellie White (Mothe...
Be like … Sophie? Arndt is Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year
Lucy Arndt (12) grew up wanting to emulate former Aquin great Sophie Brunner, who led the Bulldogs to two IHSA championships in basketball. Leading Aquin to an IHSA Class 1A championship this fall certainly qualifies. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFreeport Aquin’s Lucy Arndt grew up wanting to emulate Sophie Brunner, who led the Aquin girls’ basketball team to IHSA Class 1A championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13 before playing at Arizona State University and briefly in the WNBA and Italy.Arndt did emulate ...
Illprepvb.com presents a first look at Illinois' top 2023 club teams … the 15s
Olivia Stewart (8, far left), a 6-1 freshman from Metea Valley, will put her blocking skills to good use when she plays for SPVB 15 Elite this season. On the home page is 6-4 freshman Lynney Tarnow (12) of 1st Alliance 15 Gold by way of Benet Academy. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorToday, we turn our attention to the 15s as we end our look at some of the top club teams in Illinois. 630 Volleyball 15-1A Vincent Van Gogh this is not … yet. “This team is a blank canvas,” said 630 Volleyball girls program d...
Aquin's Arndt joins a list of 'Player of the Year' honorees that dates back to 1982
Ryann DeJarld, who played at Mother McSAuley and later at Notre Dame, was the last playerr honored as "Player of the Year" by the Chicago Sun-Times before it discontinued its coverage of all high school sports other than football and boys basketball in the spring of 2015. (Photo courtesy of the University of Notre Dame) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorDid you know that girls were not permitted to participate in interscholastic volleyball contests until 1973?Then during the 1974-75 school year, the IHSA sponsored its first volleyball t...