Springfield Shock 18 Elite went 6-2 and won the Bronze bracket in the 18 American division at the Winter Volleyball Championship last weekend at McCormick Place. Seeing some action at the pin for Springfield Shock was New Berlin's Emilie King. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comDalton Tucker traveled a long way to coach the Springfield Shock 18 Elite team.The squad has gone farther than any of the players could have imagined.“I lived in Iowa last year and drove four hours back and forth to coach them because ...
Future falls short against Rockstar in 18 Open championship at McCormick Place
Future 18 Elite and Ben Harrington (11) of Glenbard West advanced to the Boys 18 Open championship match of the Winter Volleyball Championship Monday at McCormick PLace before falling to Team Rockstar 18 Rockstar from California. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Future 18 Elite was Chicago’s last hope to win the 18 Open division at the 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship Monday at McCormick Place.But like Sports Performance and Chicago Bounce before them, Future had no answer for Sam Collins and top-seeded Team Rockstar 18 Rockstar (Carson,...
Looking to help during the COVID-19 crisis? These girls have a suggestion
1st Alliance and Lions Jrs. Volleyball Clubs are sponsoring a food drive to help people in need during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's how you can help. The coronavirus pandemic is scary. Everyone is at risk. It has already turned society upside-down. Millions of people are out of work. Many families who depended on their weekly paychecks are living day-to-day. The fragile in society are even moreso.But there are ways in which those people who still have the wherewithal can help. The can donate to charities. They can give blood. They c...
Bounce, UNO 18s clinch bids; SPVB drops heartbreaker at Winter Volleyball Championship
Future 18 Elite and Chicago Bounce 18 Red punched their tickets to Reno and the USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships by going 3-0 Sunday at the 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) UNO Boys 18 Elite's Evan Faifer (Minooka) helped secure a bid for his team, which defeated Pipeline 18-1 early Sunday at McCormick Place. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Chicago Bounce 18 Red lived on the edge Sunday at the 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place.So far, the formula is...
630 Volleyball ready to rock … whenever the boys' club season rolls around
630 Volleyball's 16-1 team features: (front row, from left) Sam Levinson, Payton Saldana, Nick Kujalowicz, Wilson Kramnic, Nitin Addanki and Manny Matel-Sanchez, and (back row, from left) Parker Moorhead, Ethan Du, coach Nick Maruyama, Kobi Lange and Peter Zurawski. 630 Volleyball had a heckuva rookie season.The Darien-based boys’ club earned eight bids to the (later cancelled) USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championship in Reno, Nevada, including two Open division bids for its 15-1 and 15-2 teams.Its 16-1 and 16-2 teams both earned bi...
Loss muddies Future's future; Bounce, SPVB, UNO 18s unbeaten after Day One at Winter Volleyball Championship
Saturday's opening round of pool play at the 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place was a mixed bag for the locals, with No. 3 seed Future 18 Elite dropping its 18 Open pool finale and SPVB B18 Lenny going unbeaten in the 18 USA division. Future 18 Elite, which earned a bid to the 2020 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships in Reno this summer by finishing fifth last weekend in California, had its sight set on winning the 2020 Boys Winter Volleyball Championship at McCormick Place this weekend.“We’re here...
Minooka's Ooms remains hopeful while recovering from a serious ankle injury
Minooka's Shane Ooms (2, far left) suffered a serious ankle injury during club season, but hopes to come back and lead Minooka to an IHSA championship. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Minooka's Shane Ooms By Matt Le Cren Special to Illprepvb.comMinooka star Shane Ooms had visions of leading his team to a state championship this spring.Instead, the 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter has been cooling his jets while rehabbing a gruesome ankle injury.Now the coronavirus pandemic has sidelined all of his teammates and every other athlete indefi...
A master of Fortnite, Badrljica has now set his sights on the volleyball court
Naperville Central's Nick Badrljica spends hours each day playing "Fortnite," the most popular video game in the world. He and his partner are among the top-ranked players in the United States. "Fortnite" has more than 200 million registered players worldwide. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comAs a freshman, Nick Badrljica decided he didn’t have time to try out for the volleyball team at Naperville Central.He was too busy playing video games.In an earlier generation – or even just a decade ago – that would be considered a sign of ...
SPVB 16 Elite is likely to face some adversity as it seeks to repeat last season's success
SPVB 16 Elite, which added five new faces to the roster that finished second in the nation as 15s last summer. Question: Which was the only team from Illinois to reach an open division championship at the 2019 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas, last summer?It wasn’t Ultimate B18 Gold, which won the 2019 Boys Winter Volleyball Championships at McCormick Place on January 19-21 and topped the final Illprepvb.com boys club rankings. The boys from the south side finished 10th at nationals.It wasn’t Chicago Bounce 17 R...
Boys' club volleyball season takes center stage with B18-Palos Point Series #3
Chicago Bounce 18 Red defeated Ultimate B18 Gold, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11, in its opener Saturday at Palos Courts to ensure a return trip to Bracket A on Sunday. Most coaches like to break down the boys’ club volleyball seasons into three parts – the preseason, the qualifier season and nationals.The preseason continued Saturday at Palos Courts in Palos Heights with the B18-Palos Point Series #3.The B18-Palos Point Series will wrap up Sunday before breaking for the holidays with a couple of newcomers joining holdovers Future 18 Elite, UNO Boys 1...