After losing three straight, Hinsdale Central won its third match in as many days Thursday by defeating Whitney Young in Hinsdale. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThree seems to be Hinsdale Central’s magic number so far this season – for better or worse.The Red Devils won their first three matches before losing three in a row.Now they’re back on track after winning their third game in as many days on Thursday.Outside hitters Erika Kalman and Ellie Henneman pounded 9 kills apiece and junior rightside Elizabeth Sessa landed 8 to lead t...
Forty-two boys representing Illinois clubs earn AAU all-tournament recognition
SPVB B18 Alpha's Britten Beallis (17) of Naperville North was named to the 18 Classic all-tournament team at the recently-concluded AAU boys' nationals in Orlando. SPVB B18 Bravo's Brannen Almarales of Downers Grove South (on the homepage) was named 18 Classic MVP. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Forty-two boys representing Illinois volleyball clubs were named to their respective division all-tournament teams at the recently-concluded AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida:2022 AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball...
Volleyball community mourns the passing of Benedictine coach Christian Staple
Christian Staple, the head men's volleyball coach Benedictine University and an assistant coach at Future Volleyball Club who previously served as a coach at Sports Performance VBC and McKendree University, passed away July 7 at he age of 31. The volleyball community and the Benedictine University family are mourning the loss of head men’s volleyball coach Christian Staple.Staple, 31, suffered a devastating stroke on Tuesday, July 5, and passed away two days later surrounded by loved ones.Staple was named the head coach at Benedictine U...
1st Alliance 15 Gold falls short in USAV title bid; HP Illinois is 11th in Freedom
1st Alliance 15 Gold finished fifth in the 15 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship in Indianapolis this week, falling to the eventual national champions in a Gold bracket quarterfinal. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – Somebody should have told 1st Alliance 15 Gold that the shortest distance between two points in a straight line.Instead, 1st Alliance took a roundabout route to the championship bracket of the 15 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship at the Indianapolis Convention Center this wee...
Lofty ranking no burden for No. 1 Normal U-High in victory at Bloomington
Normal U-High, the No. 1 team in Illprepvb.com's preseason Class 3A rankings, opened the 2022 season Monday by defeating Bloomington in straight sets. By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comBLOOMINGTON – When Bloomington High School scored its first point on Monday, Purple Raider fans showered Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked visitor, Normal University High, with the obligatory chant of, “overrated.”After the Pioneers shrugged off that opinion to win, 25-14, 25-17, Joe Sanders, coaching his 25th season-opener for Bloomington, wasn’t sure what a rea...
New look, same goal, same start for Montini; Benet youngsters get their feet wet
Montini is still figuring things out after losing four Division I seniors from last year's IHSA championship team, said captain Jordan Weatherly (16). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAll good things must come to an end.Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. UCLA basketball’s 88-game winning streak. Cal Ripken’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games played. UConn women's basketball 145-game regular-season conference winning streak.And Montini’s 36-match volleyball win streak. Ironically, it ended right where it began.York ended the defendi...
SPVB 18 Blue, 18 Red, 16 White, 1st Alliance 16 Onyx net titles on final day of AAUs
Sports Performance 16 White dropped only one set during the entire tournament to win the 16 Spirit division at the 49th AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday. Orlando, Florida – There are exceptions to the “No sure thing” rule.For example, take the 18 Classic championship match at the 49th AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.There was no way that a Sports Performance team wasn’t going to walk away with a national title. The only question was whether i...
Just another day at the beach for Horwath in Barrington's season-opening victory
Barrington opened the 2022 season with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-12 victory at Stevenson. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBarrington’s Jessica Horwath, a University of Arizona beach volleyball recruit, opted out of the indoor club season last winter and spring to work with Progression Beach Volleyball club in Darien, where she and her partner played in several big-time tournaments against taller, more mature opponents.So whatever happens on the court during this high school season is unlikely to fluster her … for example, dropping the first s...
Kehoe is key to Oswego's comeback; Downers North rides Schuller past Neuqua
Oswego's Anthony Ramirez (6) had 4 kills in the Panthers' regional semifinal win over Naperville North in a Downers Grove North regional semifinal Wednesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSometimes it takes more than a powerful outside hitter or a strong blocking middle making play after play to turn a match around.Sometimes it takes a 5-foot-6 defensive specialist.After his team dropped an error-plagued first set to Naperville North, Oswego 5-6 junior Connor Kehoe toed the service line to begin the second.B...
Presenting the Sports Performance VBC/Illprepvb Coaches Hall of Fame Class of '22
The late Dave Boze established the first volleyball club in the Great Lakes Region more than 40 years ago when he founded “Circus.” Four 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. But we felt that the creation of a coaches’ Hall of Fame was long overdue.In July 2020, with input from current and former coaches, players and officials, Illprepvb.com put together the initial class of the ...