Due to COVID-19 restrictions, McCormick Place in downtown Chicago is out as a location for the 2021 Windy City National Qualifier and Indianapolis and St. Louis are in. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) News flash! The Windy City National Qualifier will not be held in Chicago this year, and the Northern Lights Qualifier will not be held in Minneapolis.The 2021 adidas Windy City National Qualifier, originally scheduled for April 23-25 at McCormick Place, has been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions and now will be held over two weekends at differen...
Illprepvb.com presents the 100 All-Time Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players, Nos. 91-100
Megan Boken played on two IHSA championship teams at St. Francis and two NCAA tournament teams at St. Louis University. (Photo courtesy of St. Louis University) Today, we begin our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 91-100. 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 club volleyball, improved t...
Young Fillies eye race to the finish line; Arndt, Bulldogs are small but mighty
Freeport Aquin has an enrollment of 88.50 students (how do you classify as a half-student?), but Lucy Arndt (12) and the Lady Bulldogs are among the favorites to reach Redbird Arena in Class 1A later this fall. Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2021 season with more previews, including those of several teams hoping to build on their success in the spring and others that are facing a total revamp after suffering heavy graduation losses. (Last spring's record in parenthesis): Barrington (14-2)Start with the Mid-Suburban League Player...
(Almost) everything you need to know about the 2022 girls' season from A-L
Lincolnwood returns six of its top eight players from last season's 32-6-1 campaign that ended with a 25-17, 25-19 loss to Brown County in a Class A sectional semifinal. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe real fun begins tomorrow, so today Illprepvb.com takes a look at some of the teams and players who will be gracing gymnasiums throughout Illinois this fall with their athleticism, cohesiveness and determination. Due to the number of teams responding to our request for information and the amount of information we have gathered, we ...
Illprepvb.com presents the 50 All-Time Best Illinois Boys Volleyball Players, Nos. 1-10
St. Francis and Loyola star Jeff Jendryk has blossomed from a skinny 6-foot-1 high school freshman to a member of Team USA who was preparing for the Summer Games in Tokyo when the COVID-19 crisis struck. (Photo courtesy of Loyola University) Today, we continue to count down the 50 All-Time Best Illinois Boys Volleyball Players. The players were selected based on their athletic ability, their individual accomplishments on the court, how they impacted their team’s success, their place in IHSA history, and in some cases, how they conti...
Aquin runs out of gas against St. Thomas More; Stephens, Suns set on Lutheran
Springfield Lutheran's Makenna Cox tries to tip around two Augusta Southeastern defenders in the second IHSA Class 1A semifinal won by the Suns, 25-16, 25-23. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Class 1ABy Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNORMAL – The little engine that could ran out of steam.After surprising No. 1-ranked (Champaign) St. Thomas More in the first set, (Freeport) Aquin fell behind in each of the next two sets and could never quite catch the Sabres, falling 19-25, 25-22, 25-18 in the first IHSA Class 1A semifinal Friday at Redbird Arena...
Tiny Emden's fearless Barry packs a big punch in her not-so-big frame
Normal U-High's hard-hitting Lily Barry, who plays outside hitter for her high school and Illini Elite 16 Cardinal club teams, projects as a libero at the Division I level. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comWatching 5-foot-6 Lily Barry wallop a volleyball says a lot about the 16-year-old member of the Bloomington-based Illini Elite Volleyball Club.“She doesn’t hold back in anything that she does,” said club director Andy Erins, who is trying to convince the sophomore from Normal University High School by way o...
Richards pins hopes on Glynn, Kenzinger; Bourque lays down law for Yorkville
Tara Glynn (above) and Abby Kenzinger (on the home page) are two reasons Richards is expected to vie for the South Suburban Conference Red Division title again this fall. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2021 season with more previews, including those of several teams hoping to build on their success in the spring and others looking to move up the heirarchy in their respective leagues. (Last season's record in parenthesis):Crystal Lake South (7-6)After a slow start, the Gators won four of their final five...
1st Alliance 18 Black punches its ticket to nationals at Beast of the Southeast
1st Alliance 18 Black won the 18 USA division at last weekend's Beast of the Southeast Invite. 1st Alliance 18 Black defeated Rage-Westside 18 Jen (Belmont, California), 25-23, 25-20, on Sunday to win the 18 USA division at the Beast of the Southeast Invite & U18 National Qualifier in Atlanta, Georgia, and earn a bid to the USA Volleyball Girls 18s Junior National Championship in Columbus, Ohio, April 23-25.“This was truly a team win … from the players to the parents,” said 18 Black coach Matthew Madia. “From the start, this team real...
Rosenow brothers leading Oswego on long road back from unscheduled break
Plainfield Central needed a few more balls to bounce its way Thursday at Oswego, said coach Robert Richardson. Oswego junior libero Alex Rosenow was kidded that he got short-changed in the height department, checking in at a good 6 inches shorter than his brother, Ben.But Alex countered that he does have bragging rights in at least one area.“I’m three minutes older,” Alex said.The Rosenows, two-thirds of a set of triplets (brother Sam opted to play golf rather than follow his brothers’ lead), both came up big this week for Oswego, leading...