1st Alliance 15 Gold toppled previously unbeaten 1st Alliance 16 Gold Sunday on the first day of Windy City Power League play. 1st Alliance 16 Gold rolled through the field during the 16/15 Open seeding portion of the Windy City Power League, going 10-0 and winning nine of 10 matches in straight sets, including a 25-19, 26-24 victory over 1st Alliance 15 Gold on January 9.Not surprising, considering that 1st Alliance 16 Gold featured seven players from the Lions 15-1 team that finished fifth in the 15 Open division at the 2021 USAV Girls Ju...
Mitchem, Ball State are NCAA tournament-bound; and more college odds & ends
Southeast Missouri State's Laney Malloy (left) and Kayla Closset will be packing their bags for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships this week. Bolingbrook graduate and Sports Performance alumna Natalie Mitchem and her Ball State University teammates are headed to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships after defeating Bowling Green to win the Mid-American Conference championship.The 6-2 junior opposite had 11 kills, 3 blocks and 4 digs in the Cardinals’ 25-23, 29-31, 25-16, 21-25, 15-7 victory over the No. 2-seeded Fal...
The road less traveled leads former McAuley star to the NCAA championship match
Former Mother McAuley star Kayla Caffey played a big role in leading Nebraska to the NCAA championship match opposite Big Ten foe Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Nebraska athletics) Nebraska middle blocker Kayla Caffey By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFormer Mother McAuley star Kayla Caffey’s road to the NCAA championship match was full of twists and turns.And she may not be done yet.Caffey played a pivotal role in leading Nebraska to the championship match against Wisconsin, played before a crowd of 18,755 at Nationwide Arena on De...
Two Grevengoeds are together again for one final run before college beckons
Logan Grevengoed (10) led Chicago Cjhristian to a third-place finish in the IHSA Class 3A finals this fall at Redbird Arena. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Delanie, Troy and Logan Grevengoed in 2019. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comTroy Grevengoed has a bond with all his children … all six of them, including five daughters. But he has a special bond with his oldest daughter, Logan.Troy Grevengoed, the longtime boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, gave up the girls’ position this past fall to wa...
Club players from southern Illinois meet in St. Louis to kick off the Gateway League
Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy features a pair of Illinois products -- Edwardsville's outside hitter Sydney Davis (back row, second from left) and Quincy Notre Dame's Emma Hoing (back row, third from left). On the cover page is Edwardsville's Gabby Saye, who plays for Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite. By PJ BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe Windy City Power League does not get underway until January 8, but that does not mean the girls’ competitive club volleyball scene involving players from Illinois has been completely dormant.The Gateway League, which ...
Illprepvb.com peers into the crystal ball at the girls h.s. landscape in the coming fall
Campbell Paris (25) and her Barrington teammates should vie for a state title in 2022, but can 2021 Class 4A champion Metea Valley overcome some severe graduation losses? (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorI am often asked these questions:Which teams come through in the fall of ‘22?Considering how graduation will take a substantial toll on at least three teams that won IHSA championships in 2021, who are the likeliest candidates to replace St. Thomas More, Montini and Nazareth at the top of their respective class...
Hurta bedazzled opponents to earn SPVB/Illprepvb Player of the Year honors
Sports Performance VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year Katie Hurta led Nazareth to the school's first IHSA championship in a girls' sport November 12-13 at Redbird Arena. (Photos by Dave Ruggles). Katie Hurta of Nazareth By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comFive days.That’s how long it took Nazareth senior Katie Hurta to truly understand what she and her teammates had accomplished.The 2021 Sports Performance VBC/Illprepvb.com Player of the Year put down six of her team-high 15 kills during a third-set rally against Belvidere North i...
Katie Schumacher-Cawley — from state champion to (Penn) State head coach
Katie Schumacher-Cawley served as an assistant coach at Penn State for four seasons before being named head coach earlier this month. (Photos courtesy of Penn State athletics) Former Mother McAuley star and new Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comKatie Schumacher-Cawley called it a "dream come true.”The Chicago area native and two-time Penn State All-American landed one of the most prestigious positions in the nation when she was named the head coach of the Penn State women's volleyba...
Dave Boze was a coach, mentor and friend to many in the volleyball community
Volleyball legend Dave Boze, former coach at Fremd High School, assistant coach at St. Francis and founder of Circus Volleyball Club in the early 1980s, passed away Monday. Dave Boze. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTo the volleyball world, Dave Boze was a difference-maker, an innovator, a pioneer and a legend.He was also a husband, father, grandfather, a good friend and a mentor.Boze passed away Monday at Northwestern Hospital due to complications from COVID-19. He was 80 years old.“Dave Boze was a legend,” said former St. Francis...
Lemont's April Rice adds spice to her game at national development program
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...