Mother McAuley's Ryann DeJarld celebrated a state championships with her mom and coach, Jen, before becoming a standout defensive player at Notre Dame. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame). Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 41-50. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compete.The growth of ...
Illprepvb.com presents the 100 All-Time Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players, Nos. 1-10
West Aurora graduate Lauren Carlini never played at Redbird Arena, but she has played just about everywhere else during her college and professional career. She was scheduled to play in Tokyo this summer with the U.S. women's national team. Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 1-10. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but s...
Bolingbrook puts the finishing touches on a victory over Joliet Catholic
Bolingbrook players surround their coach, Molly DeSerf, after the Raiders' victory Saturday over visiting Joliet Catholic. The handful of fans in the stands and perhaps a few at the scorer’s table may have been gnawing at their fingernails when Joliet Catholic made a late run in the third game to trim what had been a 21-11 deficit to 22-16 Saturday at Bolingbrook.Nervous? Not Bolingbrook’s Kaylee Wnek.“I trust my team,” said the 5-foot-4 libero. “I trust the person behind me. I trust the person next to me. I really believe in them. I r...
McAuley's ballhandlers pass the test at Nazareth as Mighty Macs remain perfect
Nazareth's Izzy Decker (3) had 11 kills, but they weren't enough as the Roadrunners fell Monday to visiting Mother McAuley. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) A successful offense starts with good passing, and Mother McAuley passed the test with flying colors Monday.Molly McDermott and 5-8 middle hitter Abby Sarich each had 7 kills, 6-foot-3 middle hitter Molly Boyd added 5 kills and Caroline Macander passed out 21 assists as Mother McAuley defeated Nazareth, 25-22, 25-17, Monday in LaGrange Park.And it all started with good passing.“Our middles defi...
Hinsdale Central's game speed just a little too quick for Timothy Christian
Timothy Christian, which is only in its second full year of fielding a varsity team, features seniors (from left) Ben Tameling, Josh Loerop, Andrew Sheehan, Jason Westra and Kyle Teune. Timothy Christian’s schedule hasn’t exactly prepared the Trojans for what they’ll see on the other side of the net when the IHSA tournament begins in two weeks.“Adequate competition,” is what Timothy Christian coach David Barker calls his team’s slate of conference opponents.So while Wednesday’s 25-18, 25-15 loss at Hinsdale Central – the first time Timoth...
Illprepvb.com presents the 100 All-Time Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players, Nos. 71-80
Jacksonville's Jaelyn Keene (2) had nearly 3,000 kills during her combined high school and college careers. (Photo courtesy of Illinois State University, cover photo courtesy of St. Louis University) Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 71-80. Volleyball has come a long way since the IHSA began sponsoring a state tournament series in 1974. You might be hard-pressed to recognize the game. Not only have the rules changed, but so has the caliber of the athletes who compete....
Just how good is Normal U-High in 2021? Bloomington is ready and willing to testify
Maycie Welborn, a 6-foot-3 Morehead State recruit, led Normal U-High with 11 kills on 11 swings during a 25-9, 25-20 victory Wednesday at Bloomington. (Photo by Randy Sharer) https://twitter.com/Pg_Sharer/status/1372399811333328898 https://twitter.com/i/status/1372398201605603328 By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comBLOOMINGTON – With no state tournament to sort things out, we are free to speculate about how good teams such as Normal University High School are.Veteran talent evaluator Joe Sanders, in his 23rd-year as Bloomingt...
Chicago Elite Volleyball Club continues to thrive despite pandemic, uncertainty
Chicago Christian and Chicago Elite Volleyball Club graduate Lia Moore (far right) is now playing at Michigan State. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWith most youth sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, volleyball club coaches naturally wondered if their enrollment would go down this fall.That has not been the case at Chicago Elite.“We thought we’d be a little bit hurt in numbers just because what’s the point of playing club if there’s not going to be any tournaments,” said Chicago Elite boys di...
Lenny, Dail feel the heat to three-peat at Winter Volleyball Championships
Club 1 B18 Skronkstrong had a rough start to its weekend at the Winter Volleyball Championships Saturday in Indianapolis, going 0-3 in first round pool play. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Jason Kougan (Lincoln-Way East) and his Ultimate B18 Gold teammates struggled to an 0-2 finish Saturday. Indianapolis, Indiana – Solomon Dail is feeling the heat.“(Coach Zach) Splitt is a very, very competitive person, and there’s a lot of pressure on me as a team captain because he really wants this three-peat,” said the 6-foot-5 Dail, a Sports Performanc...
Palos Courts announces postponement of the Point Series until January
The Palos Point Series has been put on hold until at least January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Palos Court Point Series, the traditional start of the boys’ club season in Illinois for age groups 14 through 18, has been postponed until at least January, Palos Courts Sports Complex director Adam Beck said in an email to participating clubs Monday.“Since we are, unfortunately, in no different phase here in Illinois, we are going to have to cancel the November portion of the Palos Point Series and hope we can get restarted in January 202...