Former Downers Grove South star and IHSA champion Jackie Simpson-Kirr is in her fourth year as associate head coach at Clemson. Jackie Simpson-Kirr By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comJackie Simpson-Kirr was only 13 years old when she figured out what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to coach college volleyball.It was a lofty aspiration for someone who had just been cut from her seventh-grade volleyball team.But the Downers Grove native made it a reality. Simpson-Kirr blossomed into a 6-foot-1 setter at Downers Grove Sout...
Digtown 16 Red taking small steps at its first big tournament of the season
Digtown 16 Red is among the nearly 150 teams competing in the Presidents' Day Challenge hosted by Sports Performance at the Schaumburg Convention Center this weekend. https://youtu.be/YBY46NlzK3Y Volleyball is the No. 1 participation sport in the United States for high school-aged girls, and it continues to enjoy explosive growth, especially on the club level.Case in point? Digtown Volleyball Club in Yorkville.Three-year-old Digtown is the brainchild of Bob Coselman, whose daughter, Sydney, teamed with Sammi LaBolle to lead Sandwich ...
Illprepvb.com announces 2019 Player, Team, Coach of the Year and First Team All-State
Huntley's Taylor Jakubowski, who concluded her stellar four-year varsity career as Illinois' second all-time assist leader, is the 2019 Illprepvb.com Player of the Year. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) Today, we are pleased to announce the Illprepvb.com 2019 Girls First Team All-State Volleyball Team, our Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year. Coaches across Illinois were invited to nominate players to the Illprepvb.com all-state team. Team members were selected based upon their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom...
Mission not impossible: Fresh faces, coaching staff attract players to new club
Mission Volleyball Club enjoyed a successful competitive debut at the Wisconsin Juniors Pre-Season Kick-Off at the Lake View RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Mission Volleyball Club was initially conceived as a rebranding of Club Fusion's branch operation in Marengo before becoming its own entity. If you open it, will they come?That’s the question for anyone thinking of starting a new volleyball club.For Mission Volleyball Club, the answer has been a resounding, “yes.”Over 200 athletes ...
Montini's Billy Cyze doesn't let anything, including a rare birth defect, slow him down
Montini's Billy Cyze, flanked by his brothers Daniel (left) and Thomas (right), has learned to adapt to a rare birth defect, and in addition to being a valued member of the school's volleyball team, is a member of the school's robotics team and a licensed UAS pilot. Billy Cyze is a leader on Montini's robotics team, and holds an Unmanned Arial System (UAS) license that allows him to fly drones up to 55 pounds. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comMontini senior Billy Cyze can best be described as a problem-solver.The 6-foot-3 outside ...
Jepsen, Marist ends Lincoln-Way East’s reign; Brown, New Trier deny Loyola
Lincoln-Way East's Wil McPhilllips finds it tough sledding against the Marist block during Tuesday's sectional championship match at Marist. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Marist junior outside hitter Jake Bonnett had 7 kills during Marist's win Tuesday. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.com Playing his final match on his home court, Marty Jepsen had an opportunity to do something he had never done and the Marist boys’ volleyball team hadn't done in nine years.Get to state.The 6-foot-1 outside hitter made sure he didn’t miss his final opp...
Throw out records, reputations when St. Teresa, Maroa-Forsyth collide on court
Princeton recruit Valerie Nutakor (25) of St. Teresa blocks a shot by Maroa-Forsyth's Carlye King during St. Teresa's 33-31, 25-17 victory Monday in Decatur. Also at the net for the Bulldogs was senior middle blocker Addison Newbon (35). (photo by Randy Sharer). By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comDECATUR – For a rivalry match, Decatur St. Teresa’s status as the reigning IHSA Class 2A champion didn’t count for much against Maroa-Forsyth in a nonconference battle Monday.That was especially true during the first set as the visiting Tr...
Driven to near-suicide by a friend’s death, she finds hope, courage, and a cause
Former Downers Grove South setter Addy Karmik (11) struggled with anxiety, depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the death of club teammate Beth Dunlap. Former Downers Grove South setter Addy Karmik survived a suicide attempt and now advocates for mental health awareness. By Matt Le CrenSpecial to Illprepvb.comAddy Karmik suffered in silence for too long.Now she is determined to ensure others don’t do the same.Karmik, the former Downers Grove South setter who is an incoming freshman at the University of Wiscons...
Short-handed Sterling handles Geneseo, Quincy in Saturday two-for-one
Because of its vast geographic expanse, the eight-team Western Big Six conference has taken to playing two conference matches in one day, prompting Quincy to make the 324-mile round trip to Geneseo on Saturday to play Sterling and the host Maple Leafs. By Randy WhalenSpecial to Illprepvb.comWith a pair of starters out and two early losses, which already doubled its loss total from last season, Illprepvb.com Class 3A top-ranked Sterling looked like it might be ripe for the picking heading into Saturday's Western Big 6 Conference triangular ...
Wollard's 22 kills help IVC withstand late surge by Bloomington Central Catholic
Bloomington Central Catholic High School sophomore Isabelle Niepagen (7) hammered 13 kills in Tuesday's 25-18, 22-25, 30-28 loss to visiting Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central. (Photo by Randy Sharer) By Randy SharerSpecial to Illprepvb.comBLOOMINGTON – It’s a rare volleyball match when both teams go home happy, but that’s what happened after a raucous Illini Prairie Conference battle on Tuesday.Visiting Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central got the win, but Bloomington Central Catholic didn’t feel or look like losers after escaping a 17...