York's Ella Contant (13) and Ella Lawton (16) are two of the few players back from last season's team to greet new head coach Danny Piwowarczyk. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Out with the old – well, not completely – and in with the new.Today, Illprepvb.com continues its look at the 2021 season with previews of two schools welcoming new coaches, a look at a downstate school hoping to blend some veteran players with a few new ones, and a new coop featuring one of the smallest high schools in Illinois.(Last season's record in parenthesis):Fenton (2...
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...
Glenbrook North breaks 28-year drought, beats Lake Park for IHSA title
Glenbrook North celebrates its first IHSA boys volleyball championship since 1993 after defeating Lake Park, 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, Saturday at Glenbard West. (All photos by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/yT7bIUyd8K4 When it came to winning state championships, Glenbrook North was in cicada territory.You have to go all the way back to 1993 to discover the last time the Spartans won an IHSA championship in boys’ volleyball.They came close twice since, losing in the title game in 2004 to a Wheaton Warrenville South team led by 6-9 Matt Mc...
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...
St. Francis, York advance; Lockport wins, Lincoln-Way Central survives thriller
Oswego (left) surprised Benet in a regional semifinal Tuesday in Lisle. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) https://youtu.be/b8pYfsg-cDk By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMary Brown has the video of the final point when her Lincoln-Way Central boy's volleyball team upset Lockport to win the regional title in 2017.The Knights will have an opportunity to add to Brown's video highlight collection Thursday. That's because they persevered in a wild and crazy match with a 25-23, 36-34 victory Tuesday over Plainfield East in the second semifin...
Young upstart Limestone, senior night emotions get the better of Morton
With seven seniors who helped Morton High School reach the 2018 Class 3A Elite Eight, the Potters had hoped to win a state trophy this season before the pandemic nixed the state tournament. During an emotional Senior Night match on Tuesday, Morton lost to Bartonville Limestone, 25-13, 25-20. (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comMORTON – It’s happened before.A team of young upstarts with nothing to lose – in this case Bartonville Limestone – surprises a squad of highly regarded veterans struggling with senior nigh...
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...
College of DuPage to offer men's volleyball beginning in 2022-23 with aid of grant
A $10,000 grant from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Foundation and First Point Foundation will help to establish a men's volleyball program at College of DuPage. College of DuPage will launch a men's volleyball program during the 2022-23 academic year, thanks in part to a $10,000 grant from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Foundation and First Point Foundation, the college announced June 30. COD is one of 15 institutions to receive grant funding as part of the NJCAA and Fi...
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 ...