Mission 15 Elite has been without one of its top players throughout much of league play, but showed promise at the President's Day Classic in St. Louis recently. https://youtu.be/jLB6h8JQRAE By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFew teams that compete in the Windy City Power League have a realistic shot at earning one of the league’s automatics bids to the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship. Goals become particularly incremental for those teams exiled to Bracket D or E.“We definitely had to change our priorities being i...
1,127 wins later, girls volleyball legend named new coach at (Downs) Tri-Valley
Donna Dulle led Mt. Pulaski to 1,127 wins, 23 sectional championships, 14 IHSA state tournament appearances and two state titles during her 39 years as head coach. (Photo courtesy of Decatur Herald-Review) Former Mt. Pulaski coach Donna Dulle directed the (Downs) Tr-Valley freshman and eighth grade teams last year. By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comDOWNS – Considering Donna Dulle’s volleyball coaching success, many jobs would seem to be beneath someone of her stature.That explains why Josh Roop, Tri-Valley High School’s athletic dir...
Glenbard West smacks previously unbeaten Marist; Mustangs win two-horse race
Barrington's 6-10 sophomore Cole Hartke had 4 kills and 4 blocks in Barrington's loss to Downers Grove South in the championship match of the Richard Griesheim Invitational Saturday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepb.comNo Dorsey, no problem.Playing without one of its top players, outside hitter Danny Dorsey, who was out ill all weekend, Glenbard West handed top-ranked Marist its first loss of the season with a dominating 25-20, 25-16 victory Saturday in the championship of the Smack Attack Tournament at Brother Ric...
St. Laurence gets its kicks behind pair of multisport athletes and two brother acts
Downers Grove South (far court) will join the field Saturday at Springfest hosted by Glenbard East and featuring Glenbard West and Plainfield North. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comThe St. Laurence boys’ volleyball team is getting its kicks this season.Led by a couple of players who are used to using their feet in a sport, the host Vikings continued their nice start with a 25-18, 25-19 victory over Montini in a Chicago Catholic League Conference crossover matchup Thursday in Burbank. The hosts’ Thomas Suchec...
Heavy graduation losses aside, Lockport not missing a beat, drums Joliet West
Joliet West, which won its own tournament last weekend by defeating Stevenson and Lincoln-Way West, suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday at Lockport. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comEvan Dziadkowiec is the captain of the Lockport boys’ volleyball team. He’s also one of four sophomore starters for the Porters. Dziadkowiec dished out 23 assists as the new look Porters continued their good start by defeating Joliet West, 25-18, 25-20, in a Tuesday morning matinee in Lockport. It was Joliet West’s first loss of t...
Veteran Gieseke helps young Plainfield Central put tough start in rear-view mirror
It was a mixed bag for the Southwest Prairie Conference Thursday with Plainfield East (above) losing at Lockport while Plainfield Central (video below) broke into the win column at home against Nazareth Academy. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/NX0pSY33w4A By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorPlainfield Central’s Logan Gieseke has been around the block a few times.The 6-foot-4 outside hitter was elevated to the varsity two games into his freshman year to play middle hitter. He was slated to start his sophomore year, but the se...
A return to 'normalcy' begs the inevitable, impossible question — who's No. 1?
Parker Moorhead (12) and the Glenbard West Hilltoppers open the 2022 season as the No. 1 team in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Boys High School Rankings. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNormalcy?What is that?All you must do to get some semblance of the discombobulation that was the 2021 boys high school season is look at the past records of some of the teams ranked in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Preseason Top 25. Some played 39 matches (Glenbard West), others played as few as 16 (St. Ignatius...
Oswego sticks to the game plan and Allen delivers in win over Plainfield North
Ben Rosenow had 5 kills and 3 aces in Oswego's win over Plainfield North on Thursday in Oswego. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorOswego had a three-pronged game plan following its tough 17-25, 25-18, 25-16 loss Tuesday to Plainfield East, the Panthers’ first in Southwest Prairie Conference play.Part I: Fix what was broken.“We worked on what we needed to work on in practice (Wednesday),” said Oswego’s 6-foot libero Alex Rosenow.Part II: Talk about how you respond following a loss, and stick to it.“We want to win c...
Vander Wal, Warren head Illprepvb.com’s top-ranked players in the Class of 2025
Maureen Pokryfke (right) was second on West Aurora's varsity team in kills and blocks last fall and is currently playing for Fusion 15 Red. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we rank the top players in the Class of 2025. The list is headed by 6-3 outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (Timothy Christian), who has powered 1st Alliance 15 Gold to a 16-3 record in the Windy City Power League, and 5-8 Aniya Warren, who is carrying on the tradition of great liberos at Benet Academy. The list also includes two downstate Illinois freshmen who showca...
Fairfield's Robbins, Evansville United get warm welcome at SPVB Presidents Day
Kaylee Sharkey (80) and SPVB 18 Kahl stayed perfect in the 2022 SPVB Presidents Day Challenge at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center on Saturday by outlasting Xcel 18 Elite (Hendersonville, North Carolina), 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/FFy6ZN1HQ8o By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhen you grow up playing volleyball in Fairfield, Illinois, you really only have two choices if you plan to play club – St. Louis, Missouri, slightly more than 120 miles to the west, or Evansville, Indiana, sl...