Kamryn Lee-Caracci had 5 kills for Lyons Township at Mother McAuley on Wednesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMother McAuley honored its seniors Wednesday, and the Mighty Macs sent them out in style.In a possible sectional championship preview, McAuley made short work of visiting Lyons, 25-16, 25-16.Junior Ellie White led the way with 9 kills, 16 digs and a block, while middle blocker Maeve Moonan made sure her final home match was a good one with 6 kills and 4 blocks.“I was excited,” Moonan. “I was a li...

SPVB 18 Elite's Audrey Brcka (Wheaton North) overcomes the block of a pair of defenders during action at the 2023 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorKitty Sandt was happy simply to be back on the court.Winning the 18/17 Girls division at the 2023 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge was a bonus.“We had a month off,” said Sandt, SPVB 18 Elite’s 5-11 setter and the tournament MVP. “I think we really improved since then because we've been really training hard. But it was nice to finally play so...

Fusion 16 Dawgs' Elissa Furlan (Richmond-Burton) passes a ball from the back row during the Marengo club's match with MOD Elite G16 Blue Sunday at the 1`st Alliance Training Facility in Woodridge. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“One day you're up and the next day you're down …” Maybe the Blues Magoos were on to something back in 1967, because the lyrics to their one-hit rock wonder, “We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet,” off the album “Psychedelic Lollipop” and popularized in the movie “Easy Rider,” describe perfectly S...

The Windy City Power League 16/15 Open division seeding event got underway Saturday. Two weeks ago, Mission 17 Elite (pictured) went 3-3 at the 18/17 Open division seeding event, finishing 21st overall and 12th among the 17s. https://youtu.be/4IfrKftYYYQ By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe 1st Alliance Volleyball Club training facility in Darien is just a hop, skip and jump for Bloomington-based Illini Elite Volleyball Club owner/director and Illini Elite 16 Cardinal coach Andy Erins.“What I like about this (location) is that I ...

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...

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 ...

1st Alliance 16 Gold's Jenna Kolosta (Lockport) skies over an Adversity defender in earlier Windy City Power League action. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/2dvSCVZf9Xo By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAdversity G16 Adidas coach Lucas Yanez believes that some club teams will eventually catch up to 1st Alliance VBC’s 16s and 15s at the Windy City Power League.But that someday was not Sunday.1st Alliance 16 Gold held off 1st Alliance 16 Silver, 24-26, 25-17, 15-9, Sunday at Connect44 in Lombard to finish 12-0 a...

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...

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...

Yuliia Shchepkina (Neuqua Valley) and her SPVB 18 Kahl teammates went 3-0 Saturday during pool play at the Champions Cup hosted by the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/ioVBnWsnKW0 By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhen Bria Lomax looks to her left, glances to her right or peeks behind her, she doesn’t see many familiar faces.“Yes, I am the sole survivor,” she said.Lomax, a 6-0 middle hitter, is the only returning player from the Sports Performance 18 Kahl roster that finished second ...