Four-year starter and Loyola University recruit Ella Ramsay (14) of Moline worked tirelessly to turn herself into a six-rotation player for the Maroons. (Photo by Randy Sharer) Moline's Ella Ramsay By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comMOLINE – Moline High School volleyball fans have their fingers crossed.They haven’t been able to cheer their Maroons to a state tournament berth since 2002, but now they see Ella Ramsay’s approach could lead to a Class 4A Final Four appearance at Redbird Arena on November 12-13.Fans have actually seen two...
Glenbard West is going home (but in a good way); Lockport, Lake Park win
Sophomore Jakobi Lange (7) had 13 kills for Hinsdale Central, but it wasn't enough as Glenbard West prevailed, 25-21, 25-18, at the Hinsdale Central Sectional. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Glenbard West senior Danny Pasinski knew he was going to get a lot of work Tuesday against Hinsdale Central.The 6-foot-4 outside hitter was ready for it.“We knew from the scouting report that our outside was going to work a little bit more than our other positions tonight,” Pasinski said. “So I think I got ran a little bit more, which is nice.“I hit a load to...
IHSA pulls the plug on state tournaments, but does not nix spring sports entirely
There will not be an IHSA boys volleyball tournament at Hoffman Estates in 2020. But the organization refused to rule out the possibility that some contests could be conducted later this spring or summer if the state government and health professionals deem it is safe. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Following Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzer’s decision Friday to close all Illinois schools for the remainder of the year, one astute boys volleyball coach reacted to the IHSA’s announcement that it would postpone until today a decision whether to cancel spri...
Illprepvb.com presents the 100 All-Time Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players, Nos. 51-60
Augusta Southeastern's Kolby McClelland (20) ranks third on the IHSA all-time career kill list and now stars for Murray State. (Photo courtesy of Murray State). Today, we continue our countdown of the 100 All-Times Best Illinois Girls Volleyball Players with Nos. 51-60. 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, improve...
Lake Park, Schellinger hand top-ranked St. Francis first loss of the season
No. 1-ranked St. Francis saw its winning streak to open the season end at 23 matches Friday at the hands of Lake Park. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comTop-ranked St. Francis no longer has the pressure of trying to go undefeated.Josh Schellinger and his Lake Park teammates made sure of that.The 6-foot-6 Schellinger and 6-5 Andrew Deardorff each put down 9 kills, and setter Elijah Wrobel dished out 24 assists as the third-ranked Lancers upset St. Francis, 25-16, 25-23, Friday in Wheaton.The loss ended a 23-match winning streak by the ...
Meet me in the middle? SPVB 18 Red defeats Illini Elite 18 Black for AAU title
Illini Elite 18 Black survived nearly a half-dozen three-set matches to reach the championship match of the 18 Club division in Orlando, but ultimately fell to SPVB 18 Red. Orlando, Florida – Sports Performance 18 Red and Illini Elite 18 Black traveled a combined 2,300 miles to play in the championship of the 18 Club division at the 48th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships at the Orange County Convention Center.Wouldn’t it have been easier to settle things somewhere in the middle? Say, Dwight, Illinois?Maybe the accommodations are...
New dates, locations set for Windy City, Northern Lights, GLR qualifiers
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 ...