Benet defeated Edwardsville, 25-20, 25-23, to win the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora on Saturday. It was the Redwings' first tournament title in three tries. https://youtu.be/evITGBceZLM By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorNearly everybody walked away with something … a championship, exposure to good competition, learning that your team can overcome adversity despite losing another body to injury.But that’s what tournaments are for …  in this case, the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup at the G...

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...

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...

Madisen Babich (far right) enjoyed an all-state career at Lyons Township under former coach Joann Pyritz before moving on to Cal State Fullerton. She now tackles another challenge at Downers Grove South. (Photo by Mark Brown for Cal State-Fullerton Athletics). We are just a few days away from the first day of practice for the 2021 Illinois girls’ high school volleyball season.No one is still quite sure what the season will look like. We do know that per Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order Wednesday, all Illinois K-12 students whether in public or pr...

Marist lost a second consecutive match for the first time since 2017 when it fell to visiting St. Francis on Monday. St. Francis' Aiden Benson (left) and Kevin Schuele. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comComing off its first loss of the season, St. Francis not only wanted to regroup, the Spartans  wanted to show they were still a top team.The Spartans did exactly that.Coming up with some huge plays down the stretch, St. Francis defeated Marist, 25-17, 25-23, in a scintillating matchup Tuesday on Chicago’s south side.St. Francis...

Lions 15-1 features an unusual roster in 2020 that includes three middle hitters and three setters. https://youtu.be/xC98jBFNf6U Last summer, Lions 15-1 finished fifth in the Open division at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.However, last year’s Lions 15-1 team and the 2020 edition bear little resemblance to each other.“The biggest difference right away is the height,” head coach Laura Burgarin said. “Last year, I had 6-foot-3, 6-2, 6-1 across the front row. I’m working with a little smaller g...

Naperville Central won a Class 4A regional title in 2019 behind Southeast Missouri recruit Kayla Closset, who said that coach Brie Isaacson always had faith in her even when she didn't. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Naperville Central girls' volleyball coach Brie Isaacson By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comBrie Isaacson’s life is both full and fulfilling.The Naperville Central girls’ volleyball coach has guided the Redhawks to two state championships and has owned her own club, Club 1 in Plainfield, for the past 12 years.She’s done it whi...

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier does not expect to watch his teams participate in an IHSA-sponsored state tournament in 2021. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Marist boys' and girls' coach Jordan Vidovic. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comNo one has won more IHSA boys volleyball championships than Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier. He has also led the Tigers to a pair of top four finishes in girls’ volleyball.But Schreier is not optimistic he will be adding any hardware to the trophy case in 2021. “I would have...

(Photos by Dave Ruggles) Which teams will have firepower aplenty come the fall of 2020? Will Decatur St. Teresa and Breese Mater Dei meet for a second consecutive year in the IHSA Class 2A championship match? The IHSA’s arbitrary “rolling of the peas” could be the only impediment.Will Benet repeat in Class 4A one year after the Redwings prevented Marist from winning a third consecutive IHSA championship? Can Sterling join St. Francis as the only teams to three-peat in 3A? Can Norris City-Omaha-Enfield get back to Redbird Arena without Emile...