Barrington's 6-10 sophomore outside hitter Cole Hartke (15) led Pipeline 17-1 to the championship match of the 2022 Dennis Lafata Boys Bid Classic. (Photo courtesy of Daily Herald) Today, we rank the top boys in the Class of 2024. The list is headed by the most impactful freshman from the 2021 high school season, Lockport's 5-foot-10 setter Evan Dziadkowiec, who led the Porters to their first-ever appearance in the IHSA quarterfinals and continued to flash his brilliance this winter at the reigns of Ultimate B16 Gold. Just behind...
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...
Lincoln-Way East leaves 'em feeling blue at Crimson Classic; Benet, McAuley roll
Lockport's 6-1 sophomore middle blocker Jenna Kolosta (18) is greeted at the net by Lincoln-Way East's Hayven Smith (16) and Tamia Maddox (12) during the Crimson Classic championship match at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThere was something about finishing last season only one game over .500 that didn’t sit well with Lincoln-Way East veterans Ava Nepkin and Jada James.“Going into last season, we all anticipated having a good year,” Nepkin said. “Unfortunately, it wasn't.”But ...
Marist soul-searching sears St. Francis; Metamora vexes Normal West in 3A tussle
Metamora sophomore Esma Frieden (8) banged out 22 kills to lead the Redbirds to a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19 victory Tuesday at Normal West. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) CHICAGO -- Between 2017-19, the Marist girls’ volleyball team lost a total of seven matches in winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles and then placing third.Last Saturday, the RedHawks dropped two matches in a row and finished fourth at the Crimson Classic, which led them to do some soul-searching.“I feel like it motivated me to be more of an impact player,” said Marist outside h...
Powerhouse Normal U-High ready to home in on success, get back to Redbird
University High hopes an explosive offense can earn the team a trip to Redbird Arena, which is just seventh-tenths of a mile south of the school off Main Street in Normal. By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comNORMAL – Home buyers often look for places that are “move-in ready.”Likewise, volleyball fans of Class 3A state powerhouse University High School in Normal hope to watch an offense that won’t need renovation during or after its August 22 season-opener at Bloomington.“Our top strengths will be our setting and our offense,” says Mike ...
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...
1st Alliance 17 Gold is No. 1 in nation; 16 Gold, Sky High 17 place second at USAVs
1st Alliance 17 Gold huddles on its way to winning the 17 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana – The Gold bracket of the 17 Open division at the 2022 USAV Girls Junior National Championship was a breeze for No. 1 seed 1st Alliance 17 Gold.Getting there? Well, that was a different story. After finishing second in its initial pool and losing to AZ REV 17 Premier (Phoenix, Arizona) 17-25, 25-19, 15-13, in its first match of a Round 2, three-team pool Sunday, 1st Al...
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...
Is one Sky High better than two? Which 1st Alliance team is first? It's still undecided
Sky High Adidas 16 Elite is a combination of two 15s teams from a year ago and has found itself among the upper echelon of teams in the Windy City Power League 16/15 Open division. On the home page is Sky High Adidas 16 Elite setter Jenna Meitzler from Barrington. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorBack and forth they go.1st Alliance 16 Gold and 1st Alliance 15 Gold found themselves in familiar territory Saturday during Windy City Power League play at the 1st Alliance facility in Woodridge – the championship match of Bracket A.Whether i...
Lee-Caracci, with a little help from her friends, leads Lyons past Willowbrook
Willowbrook suffered its first loss of the 2022 season Wednesaday at the hands of visiting Lyons Township, 25-20, 12-25, 25-22. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe graduation of Tia Kostic and Adriana Vassek – who together accounted for more than 500 kills – from last year’s sectional semifinalist Lyons team put the burden of being “that” girl squarely on the shoulders of returning outside hitter Kamryn Lee-Caracci.So far, Lee-Caracci has shown that, boy, she can carry that weight a long time.Wednesday in Villa Park, Lee-Caracci slamm...