Logan Clarida (20) and his Lincoln-Way West teammates will meet Lockport for a regional title Thursday after they defeated Plainfield North in a semifinal Tuesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comDon't be late!Andrew Tomaszewski made sure the Lincoln-Way West seniors weren't to their graduation.Tomaszewski, a senior setter, served an ace on match point as the Warriors avenged a season-opening loss to Plainfield North by toppling the Tigers, 25-22, 25-23, Tuesday in the opening semifinal of the Lockport Regiona...

April Rice (second from right), a freshman setter at Lemont High School and Adversity G15 Adidas, recently returned from attending the National Team Development Program in Anaheim, California. Lemont's April Rice and U.S. Women's National Team coach Karch Kiraly. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comApril Rice traveled a long way over the Christmas break.Her game followed suit.Rice, a 5-foot-10 freshman setter from Lemont and Adversity G15 Adidas, spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s at the women’s Olympic Training Center in...

Jace Milka (4) is one of eight Plainfield East seniors who are trying to do something even the great 2018 team was not able to achieve. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe 2022 Plainfield East Bengals are poised to do something even the great 2018 Plainfield East team could not accomplish.The 2018 Plainfield East team is the benchmark by which all the school’s boys volleyball teams are measured.That team opened the season with 19 consecutive wins before losing to Brother Rice, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, at Brother Ric...

Barrington sophomore Jenna Meitzler (11) collects one of her 3 kills against Edwardsville in the Class 4A third-place match. (Photo by Dave Ruggles)  Class 4ABy Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNORMAL – No. 17 will have to wait another year.Metea Valley, which had never even won a regional before this season, shocked the Mother McAuley, 15-25, 25-8, 25-17, at Redbird Arena on Saturday to deny the Mighty Macs a 17th IHSA championship and claim the first state volleyball trophy in the Aurora school’s history.“Oh my God, I can’t even describe...

SPVB 18 Kahl was all smiles Friday at the AAU Girls National Volleyball Championships in Orlando on Friday, but those smiles turned upside-down after Kahl lost in the 18 Premier championship match to FarOut 18 Black. Orlando, Florida -- Things could have gone better for Sports Performance VBC at the 49th AAU Girls National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.Sports Performance 18 Elite advanced to the championship match of the 18 Open division, while SPVB 18 Kahl reached the title bout in the 18 Premier division.Both t...

SPVB 18 Elite outside hitter Ella Wrobel (Plainfield North) has her sights set on returning the Aurora club to the AAU championship stage after a three-year absence. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIs it coincidence that the last names of SPVB 18 Elite’s top three outside hitters all start with the letter “W?”“We purposely did that,” joked SPVB 18 Elite coach Troy Gilb. “We wanted to make life easy for me … coaching two teams.”Gilb, who also coaches the club’s top 18s boys’ team, expects 6-4 outside hitter and ...

Boys volleyball clubs nationwide are opting to compete in the AAU junior national tournament this summer, a departure from their long-standing participation in the USAV-sponsored event. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorDrew Rogers, you just graduated from Benet Academy.What are you going to do next?“I’m going to Disney World!”Just kidding. Rogers won't graduate from Benet for a few more months, and he didn't really say that ... yet. But the 630 Volleyball 18-1 outside hitter did express his excitement over the ...