Plainfield North (above) led 20-14 in the second set against visiting Lincoln-Way East Tuesday, but watched the visitors close on an 11-2 run to earn a 25-20, 25-22 sweep. https://youtu.be/T4kyIkF0JAc By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorTyler Walenga wasn’t worried.“I knew something was coming,” he said.Neither was Jared Byas.“No matter what, we’re not going to give up,” he said. “We just keep fighting.”Even coach Kris Fiore believed.“One of the greatest attributes of our kids is that you didn't see fear in their eyes at all,” he said...
Krzeczkowski gets angry, bounces back, ‘pounds’ it for steadily improving Benet
Metea Valley's Bartosz Chmielewski (6) had 6 kills against visiting Benet Academy on Wednesday, but the Redwings defeated the Mustangs, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comBenet right side Dominic Krzeczkowski began Wednesday’s match against host Metea Valley with a blistering kill.An hour later, he ended it with another one.In between, well, the Redwings had to dig deep to put an end to Metea’s five-game winning streak. Krzeczkowski, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, led all players with 12 kills, but B...
Bolingbrook makes a little history, beats Lincoln-Way East for first-ever SWSC title
Bolingbrook's Madison Shroba had 15 kills to lead the Raiders to their first-ever Southwest Suburban Conference championship Tuesday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorFirst, a brief history lesson.Bolingbrook was one of 10 schools that broke away from the old South Inter-Conference Association in 2005 to form the Southwest Suburban Conference. During the ensuing years, the Raiders have won conference titles in boys basketball, football, boys volleyball and girls basketball.So, when was the last time the Raiders ...
Quinn Isaacson heads list of Illinois products recognized among college's best
Quinn Isaacson, a Plainfield North graduate who led Ball State to a 23-4 record and the NCAA national semifinals, was named the recpient of the Lloy Ball Award as the nation's best collegiate setter. (Photo courtesy of Off the Block). Quinn Isaacson is capping off a college career with a major college men’s volleyball honor.Off the Block (Offtheblockblog.com) announced Monday that a nationwide voting committee selected the Ball State setter as the recipient of the 2022 Lloy Ball Award.The Lloy Ball Award, which is named after the former ...
Marshall sticks to the plan; SPVB 15 Red 'aspires' to its own AAU championship
Sports Performance 15 Red defeated Mizuno Northern Lights 15-Red to win the 15 Aspire division at the 49th AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championship Wednesday in Orlando, Florida. Orlando, Florida – The Marshall plan was simple: get the ball to Lauren Jansen. Or Anabelle Troy. Or Lauren Jansen. Or Annabelle Troy.Everybody else? Fight, scratch, claw and play relentless defense.After Sports Performance 17 Marshall surrendered the first set of the 17 Club championship match at the 49th AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championship...
SPVB 18, 15 Elite, 18 Blue take home top honors at Presidents Day Challenge
SPVB 18 Elite outside hitter and Wisconsin recruit Ella Wrobel (Plainfield North) was named MVP of the 18/17 Open division at the SPVB Presidents Day Challenge. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/Nv4F9fYMlvw By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSports Performance’s 15 Elite team has taken the court 18 times this season – 24 if you count the six matches it played during a scrimmage early in the season – and only five times has the team on the other side of the net been in the same age bracket.So after dropping the second set o...
Adversity girls rebound from early loss to advance at Winter Volleyball Championship
Michio Chicago 18 National finished third in its pool on day one of the 2022 Girls Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorAdversity G18 Adidas was up against it after its first match Saturday at the 2022 Girls Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place.Adversity dropped its opener against Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12, and needed to win its final two matches to remain in the hunt for one of the handful of Open bids available to the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Champi...
Falk, streaking De La Salle trip Providence in GCAC opener for both teams
Victoria Huptych and St. Charles North defeated Wheaton North, 25-15, 26-24, Tuesday in a key showdown in the DuKane Conference. (On the cover) Sophomore middle blocker Jenna Kolosta and Lockport defeated Plainfield Central in a nonconference match Tuesday. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comAnna Marie Marassa is in her 21st season as head coach at De La Salle. Her teams don't beat Providence very often. But the Meteors did Tuesday night.Behind 13 kills, 10 digs and 3 aces from Jen Falk, the Meteors def...
Marchis' passion, hard work and energy have Falcons soaring toward postseason
Wheraton North kill leader Will Trussell put 8 more in the column for the Falcons Tuesday against visiting Geneva. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). https://youtu.be/Uq5BTyA9R-w By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorWhenever the Wheaton North coaching staff wants to challenge their players to work harder, they don’t have to look far to find someone for those players to emulate.“We called them out,” said Wheaton North coach Justin Hineman. “We told them, ‘If you want to see what passion is, if you want to see what hard work is, if you want to see...
The Volleyball Institute/Illprepvb.com present the top 100 boys in the Class of 2023
Jakobi Lange, whose 229 kills as a sophomore last spring powered Hinsdale Central to a sectional final, heads The Volleyball Institute/Illprepvb.com list of the top 100 players in the Class of 2023. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we rank the top 100 boys in the Class of 2023.Among those at the top of the list are three members of 630 Volleyball 17-1 -- Hinsdale Central's 6-4 outside hitter Jakobi Lange, who led the Red Devils to the sectional final as a sophomore, setter Peter Zurawski of defending IHSA quarterfinalist Oak Park-River F...