by Phil Brozynski

Former Benet Academy standout Ariana Mankus' last day with her Sports Performance (Aurora, Illinois) 18 White teammates was a fairy tale worthy of Disney.

Mankus, who reported to United States Military Academy at West Point, New York on June 28 to begin her college career, was named MVP of the 18 Club division at the AAU Junior National Volleyball Tournament on June 20 after leading SPVB 18 White to the national championship.

SPVB 18 White defeated M-Juniors 18 Maize 25-19, 25-16, Premier 18-1 25-14, 25-13 and Louisiana Volleyball 18 Jon 25-21, 25-17 to win the national title. Mankus and teammates Amy Kendall and Lindsay Weber were named All-Americans.

"It was awesome," said Mankus, who along with her Benet teammates had to settle for second-place at last fall's Illinois Class 4A state tournament after the once-beaten Redwings were upset by St. Charles in the finals.

"We worked hard all season," she said. "Our goal was to medal at AAU's."

SPVB White learned three weeks ago it would not be competing in the 18's Open division at AAU's.

"There was a change of plans and we were put in the club division, but we were in it to win it," she added. "When we found out we were playing in the club division, we were a little disappointed. But we decided to make the best of it."

Mankus was given a hero's welcome when she returned to the home where SPVB 18 White was quartered during their trip to Orlando. Her teammates had decorated the house with streamers and hung banners that said "Goodbye" and "Good luck."

"I am excited about going to college, but also a little sad," Mankus said. "I will miss the girls. I will miss my teammates a lot. But change is good, so..."

By Phil Brozynski

The weather gets hotter, the gyms are steamier, but if you wanna get better...

***

Brother Rice High School will hold its first ever sand volleyball camp for all interested grade school and high school boys and girls for two weeks beginning July 13 at Circle Park (Klein Park) at 97th and Homan in Evergreen Park.

All participants receive a T-shirt and a volleyball.

Registration forms can be found at www.brvolleyball.com, by calling Paul Ickes at (773) 429-4494 or e-mailing him at pickes@brrice.org.

***

Brother Rice will hold its 17th annual summer grade school boys volleyball camp the weeks of July 27-31 and Auigust 3-7 in the school's air-conditioned North Gym located at 10001 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago.

Players entering grades 3-8 are eligible. All participants receive a T-shirt and volleyball.

Registration forms can be found at www.brvolleyball.com, by calling Paul Ickes at (773) 429-4494 or e-mailing him at pickes@brrice.org.

***

Therese Boyle-Niego -- a college hall of famer, former high school state champion (Mother McAuley) and NCAA coach -- will hold a series of volleyball camps at McAuley, Brother Rice and Palos Courts during the summer.

Coaches include McAuley coach Jen DeJaarld, St. Ambrose coach Bill Gleeson, UIC coach Katie Schumacher Cawley, former McAuley great Meg Griffin, former Queen of Peace coach Jen Burns and others.

Camps continue throughout the summer. A high level camp for girls is set for August 1-2, while a high level camp for boys will be held July 26. Youth camps will run July 13-16 and August 10-13, and specialty clinics run July 23-25.

For more information, contact Boyle-Niego at (773) 238-4859 or visit www.elitevolleyballprogram.com.

By Phil Brozynski

It's time to start thinking Illinois girls volleyball again, and with that comes the news that Prepvolleyball.com recently released its list of the top collegiate recruiting classes of 2009.

The top 30 are ranked 1-30, the next 15 are listed as "highest honorable mention," and 45 others received either "high honorable mention" or "honorable mention" recognition.

Illinois high school graduates impacted only eight of the top 30 recruiting classes. Here are the programs featuring Illinois athletes and their ranking:

2. Nebraska - Hannah Werth, an outside hitter from Chatham Glenwood, was ranked No. 4 on Prepvolleyball.com's list of 100 Senior Aces.

8. Purdue - Courtney Gosewisch, a 5-foot-9 libero from Downers Grove South, helped make this perhaps Purdue's best class ever.

14. Baylor - Six-foot outside hitter Kiley Sherman from Oswego East is called a "prototype ball control outside hitter."

20. Ohio State - Defensive specialist Kelsey Bowler from Naperville North and 6-foot setter Amanda Peterson of Glenbard East join the Buckeyes.

21. North Carolina - Emily McGee from Naperville Central is expected to make an immediate impact for the Tar Heels.

22. Indiana - Sycamore's Sam Thrower joins Nebraska transfer and former Illinois prep star Jordan Haverly to help boost the Hoosiers' standing in the Big Ten.

27. Missouri - Naperville North defensive whiz Melissa Ferri joins a strong group of defenders in Columbia.

28. Illinois - Benet's Jessica Jendryk, Crystal Lake South's Erin Johnson, Taylor Onion from Rushville-Industry and Jackie Wolfe from Wheaton Warrenville South join Connecticut transfer and former WW South setter Annie Luhrsen in new head coach Kevin Hambly's first class.

Impacting the highest honorable mention group are: York's Ellen Ribar (Colorado); Hersey's Shelly Mueller (Marquette); Bradley's Kara Bates and Oak Park's Sara Shannon (Maryland); and Burlington Central's Molly Turk (Northern Iowa).

Helping their college destinations crack the high honorable mention ranking are: Benet's Val Mattaliano (Boston College); Waubonsie Valley's Kari Galen (Bowling Green); and Lake Forest Academy's Tanya Mirutenko and Benet's Natalie Patzin (Clemson).

Also, Benet's Paige Vargas (Dayton); Mother McAuley's Kelly Griffin and Elizabeth Sweeney (Western Michigan); and Fenwick's Claire Liston (Wisconsin).

By Phil Brozynski

The 2009 boys volleyball season is in the books, and in the end, it looked an awful lot like the 2008 season.

2010 promises to look a lot different, however. Or does it?

Maine South, Sandburg and Buffalo Grove figure to be among the top teams next spring, but don't discount three-time defending state champion Wheaton Warrenville South, said senior setter Joe Kelly.

"I think they'll surprise some people next year," said Kelly, one of eight players who graduated from WW South this spring including starters Kevin Mueller, Neill Nystrom, Rob Samp and Neal Whittington.

"The Wilkins (Eric and Matt) will be back, and so will (Eric) Luhrsen," he said. "And the freshmen team was phenomenal."

The Tigers did get a little bad news when it was learned that sophomore Dave Priest, an outstanding club setter who was slated to set for the Tigers in 2010, will be moving to the northern suburbs.

Finally, Brother Rice coach Paul Ickes promises to keep fighting the good fight to bring the state volleyball championships to a better venue. Hoffman Estates has been the home of boys volleyball for many years, and while school officials do a good job of running the tournament, fan seating is atrocious.

Because the bleachers have to be pulled in to allow for room around the court, only a few hundred fans can actually sit on floor level and then only on the side opposite the benches. The rest of the fans have to sit on the balcony level, not an ideal situation for the intimacy so many fans enjoy at other events.

IHSA officials noted that attendance was down this year, but part of that could be attributable to the seating (No casual fan wants to go to an event at which you must sit in the "top row"), the location and the early demise of Marist, which supports its sports teams very well.

Also, it's hard to believe that tournament officials had the audacity to ask the Marist fans to give up their seats on the ground floor to make room for late-arriving Maine South fans. That situation does not arise at any other venue where there is adequate seating on both sides of the court

By Phil Brozynski

OK, nobody's perfect. But correctly selecting six out of the eight quarterfinalists in the IHSA boys state volleyball tournament at Hoffman Estates ain't bad. AIG and GM should have done so well with some of their boardroom decisions.

Meanwhile, the 2009 quarterfinals should provide some of the most entertaining volleyball the tournament has seen in a long time. The subplots are numerous and intriguing.

Can Wheaton Warrenville South make it three straight and five out of six?

Can Neuqua Valley derail the Tigers and reach the finals for the first time in three tries?

Who will emerge from the quartertfinal between first-timers Morton and St. Patrick?

Can Buffalo Grove get to the finals again and win it all after falling just short in 2008?

Is Maine South a year ahead of schedule?

Meanwhile, here is how the quarterfinals might shape up:

Neuqua Valley (31-3) vs. WW South (35-4), 1 p.m.

Neuqua Valley had the easiest route to state. WW South arguably the most difficult. You have to like WW South's moxie and its ability to put it all together in crunch time. Got to like the Tigers in three games in this one.

St. Patrick (28-5) vs. Morton (29-5), 2 p.m.

St. Patrick and Morton have both had dream seasons. Experience won't be a factor, but Morton's defense should be. The undersized Mustangs advance because of their defense.

Glenbard North (24-8) vs. Buffalo Grove (30-5), 5 p.m.

Glenbard North played a difficult schedule in the DuPage Valley, and although the Panthers did not beat the either of top teams in the league (WW South and Glnbard East), they come in battle-tested. But the Bison are on a mission.

Maine South (33-6) vs. Marist (34-5), 6 p.m.

Maine South provided one of the tournament's biggest surprises when it won it all in 2006. But Marist wants a rematch with WW South, and to earn that, the RedHawks are ready to swat everybody in their way.

Semifinal picks: WW South over Morton, Marist over Buffalo Grove. Destiny dictates the two best teams meet in the finals.

Finals: WW South over Marist. The Tigers incredible run ends with another state title.

Let's see how I do, eh Bob?

By Phil Brozynski

Peter Doerrer is going to college in the fall. He will likely attend Purdue to study engineering. He could go anywhere and play volleyball. But volleyball is not his primary sport. Doerrer is a basketball player, and a pretty darned good one.

When was the last time you heard that?

In this era of specialization, fewer and fewer athletes are multi-tasking. I looked back over some rosters from the past few years and found only a handful of basketball players who "moonlighted" on the volleyball court in the spring.

I remember when volleyball was touted as a "natural" sport to which basketball players might matriculate in the spring. Volleyball included jumping, a little running, coordination, teamwork. Some of the same attributes required in basketball. Of course, that was in the days prior to the unchecked proliferation of spring basketball leagues.

Oddly, despite the severe shortage of men's volleyball scholarships available (primarily due to the impact of Title IX), are the number of basketball scholarships available to those same city and suburban athletes any greater? Proportionally speaking, with the thousands and thousands of boys playing basketball across the United States and competing for scholarships, can one's chance of landing a scholarship in basketball be any greater than in volleyball?

But back to Doerrer. What makes him so special is that he excels in both sports, and he could have likely chosen a college path in one or the other. He still may choose to pursue basketball, but his primary focus is on academics. That knowledge allowed him to enjoy the past spring as he led St. Ignatius to second place in the Catholic League tournament last weekend - the school's highest finish ever in the tournament.

"When I took over the program three years ago, Peter was one of three sophomores who I coached the year prior as freshman who I brought up to the varsity team," St. Ignatius coach Mark Johnston said. "All three sophomores started, but he had the biggest impact on the team (playing middle hitter), leading the team in kills and blocks.

"That year, we upset the No. 2 team in our sectional, Oak Park, to win the regional," the coach added. "It was only the second regional title in school history. After that year's performance, I knew I had something special with Peter.

"Peter has been my go-to guy for three years now," Johnston said. "He has definitely turned around a struggling program. Thanks to Peter, we are now going for first-ever sectional title. He is a great kid with a great attitude on and off the court. He will truly be missed."

When his high school volleyball career is finished, Doerrer will have amassed more than 900 kills and rank among Illinois' top all-time kill leaders. More importantly, at least a few will remember that he thumbed his nose at specialization and decided to enjoy his high school experience.

By Phil Brozynski

It's been a bad week for ranked teams.

No. 3 Buffalo Grove, No. 5 Neuqua Valley, No 6 Hinsdale Central and No. 7 St. Francis all went down this week.

Buffalo Grove (26-5) was stunned in three games Wednesday by Fremd (28-6) in the Mid-Suburban League championship game, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive league wins by the Bison.

Neuqua Valley (31-3) was derailed Monday by Minooka, whose only previous claim to fame was a 25-10, 25-21 whipping by Hinsdale Central earlier this year. Neuqua Valley and Minooka should meet again next Wednesday in the regional title game at Neuqua.

Hinsdale Central (30-4) lost Thursday at Morton (25-5), which got 15 kills from 5-11 outside hitter Jonathan Hernandez Hernandez had 10 kills in Morton's win over Addison Trail on Tuesday which clinched the Mustangs' second West Suburban Gold title.

St. Francis (28-7) was upended by Lyons, but setter Mike Segneri sat out for precautionary reasons. Segneri has been battling illness the last couple of weeks, but is expected to be well enough to play in next week's regional.

Meanwhile, the Catholic League tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at St. Ignatius, and unlike previous years when it was a mere formality and the crowning of Brother Rice was a given, any of five teams has a legitimate chance to walk off with the league title.

Loyola (26-4), with junior Reis Foster on the outside, is the No. 1 seed, followed by Brother Rice, despite its 16-14 overall record. St. Rita (18-9), which played so well early in the season, is seeded fifth behind St. Ignatius (23-6) and Providence.

The championship is tentatively scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Finally, here are my picks (you can add your own) for the state quarterfinals June 5: Neuqua Valley vs. Wheaton Warrenville South, St. Patrick vs. Morton, Buffalo Grove vs. Fremd, Loyola vs. Marist.

Semifinal pairings? Who knows, but WW South and Marist should meet in the finals. And if WW South plays anything like it did when the two teams met at Richards earlier this month, the Tigers will win their third consecutive state title.

Let the drama begin.

By Phil Brozynski

Random ramblings:

1. Get well wishes to St. Francis setter Mike Segneri, who has been sidelined on and off this season for one reason or another. It's been a tough season for Mike, who suffered an ankle injury at Glenbard East, fought his way back to lead the Spartans to a second-place finish at the Brother Rice Smack Attack, then missed some time with illness. Segneri is a player who leaves it all out on the floor.

2. It does not seem fair that guys like Mike Segneri and Dan Dierking (Naperville Central) have their seasons pulled out from under their feet due to no fault of their own, while other kids make stupid, selfish decisions that not only cost them the remainder of their seasons, but punish their teammates, their coaches, their fans, their schools and anybody who loves volleyball.

3. I don't hate on anybody. But you have to earn respect. Any team can have a great record, but you have to beat somebody...and not just in pool play, but when it matters!

4. If you want your comments posted, avoid using words that are not listed in Webster's Dictionary.

5. Why do seven downstate Illinois rate two regionals? I realize there is a little geography involved, but the last time I looked, Belleville East and West and East St. Louis were in the same conference.

6. I would love to see a St. Rita vs. Morton sectional final at St. Rita.

7. Of all the teams ranked in the Sun-Times Top 10, Neuqua Valley has the easiest route to the state tournament. Whoever comes up from southern Illinois will have to spend a lot of time on the bus to get to Bolingbrook, and there isn't a team in the top 30 between Neuqua and the sectional finals.

8. The state champion may come out of the Willowbrook sectional, but the toughest field top to bottom is at T.F. North. Highland Park is a close second.

9. Glenbard North is the top seed at Elgin, but look out for surging Lake Park.

10. Congratulations to Randy Lorenz, Nick Leiding, Max Deevy and the rest of the Barrington Broncos on sharing the Mid-Suburban West title with Fremd. The Broncos are a great example that it's not always the size of the player, but the size of the heart that matters.

By Phil Brozynski

OK, so the last couple of boys state volleyball championships have provided few surprises.

2008: Wheaton Warrenville South.

2007: Wheaton Warrenville South.

2006: Maine South (OK, that was a surprise).

2005: Wheaton Warrenville South.

2004: Wheaton Warrenville South.

2003: Glenbrook South (no stunner here...the Sam Kim years).

2002: Marist (the last truly surprising winner in years).

Maybe this will be the year that familiar pattern is broken.

Let's look at a few teams that could make some noise late in the season:

St. Ignatius: The Wolfpack is 20-3 (through May 4) and has already beaten St. Rita. There may be too many gimme's on the St. Ignatius schedule to get a true gauge of their strength, but like it or not, the Wolfpack has the easiest path of any ranked (or nearly-ranked) team to the state tournament. Peter Doerrer is a bonafide killing machine, and don't you want to hear the state P.A. guy try pronouncing Rimas Grybauskas?

Neuqua Valley: A newcomer to the top 10 so maybe not a complete surprise. Outside power Rob Bauer and middle magician Derek Menendez are holdovers from last year's third-place finisher. Once again, almost nobody in the way to state. The Wildcats are 25-2 (through May 4) and have gone 2-1 against St. Francis (although one of those wins came with the Spartans' Mike Segneri nursing an ankle injury).

New Trier: Would another appearance by the Trevians be all that much of a surprise? Six-foot-6 senior Chris Ahlin is solid in the middle and libero Simon Holstein can go get 'em in the back row. New Trier was 17-7 (through May 4) and steadily improving.

Lake Park: Brad Baker, the man who almost brought you unbeaten Benet in the fall, is trying to work his magic with the Lancers (and what would spruce up a state tournament more than those gaudy blue and white shorts with the palm silhouettes?). After a 5-5 start, Lake Park is 10-1 with its only loss to WW South while beating heavyweights Loyola and St. Francis.

Lincoln-Way Central: Two words - Connor Wexter. The Knights are one of those teams that just hangs around long enough to make opponents sweat. Maybe they can make a few more teams sweat later this month.

Providence: The Celtics have the capability, they have Brian Urchell and 6-foot-7 Denny Falls, they have Cindy Olczyk calling the shots and they still have some unfinished business after last year's grueling three-set semifinal loss to WW South.

Warren: Everybody who's anybody up north is at Highland Park. But they can dream, can't they. If not this year, then next. Watch 6-4 junior Kyle Schwede , 6-5 sophomore Eduard Ciobano and 6-3 sophomore Dillon Schaefer.

Stevenson: Stuck among the "other teams" all season, the Patriots have a pair of solid gold sluggers in 6-2 senior Kyle Buck and 5-11 senior Brad Feiger. Setter Brian Czosek runs the show. No height (middle Travis Naftzger is a modest 6-2), but plenty of great defense.

Vernon Hills: Keegan Harris and Ernie Choi are as good as it gets on the attack, and setters Sam Lee and Justin Opitz make sure they get the ball early and often.

By Phil Brozynski

Sitting in a red plastic seat in the stands at Saint Xavier University watching the finals of the Brother Rice Smack Attack between St. Francis and Marist on Saturday, one could not help but agree with the assessment of a nearby spectator.

"They need to play the boys' state tournament here, or at least a place just like it," the spectator said. "I heard they've been talking about the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, but that facility is probably too big.

"Nothing against Hoffman Estates High School," he added. "They do a nice job. But the atmosphere here is so much better. It's a college arena. No matter what they do, Hoffman Estates is still a high school gym."

The boys state volleyball tournament does deserve a facility like the Shannon Center at Saint Xavier.

The Shannon Center has been the site of some recent supersectionals in basketball, including the girls classic this winter between (Chicago) Whitney Young and (Chicago Heights) Marian Catholic, won by Young on a 25-footer at the buzzer.

It is not a cavernous facility, like Redbird Arena at Illinois State University can become when only a few hundred fans attend Saturday's third-place games (no students because they are already excused from school, and playing for third is not quite playing for first).

But the Shannon Center still has that college "feel." All the way up to the vegetarian concession stand with the power juice drinks. But those can easily be replaced with popcorn poppers and pretzel ovens.

Meanwhile, give Brother Rice coach Br. Paul Ickes credit for undertaking an ambitious plan in putting together Smack Attack. Hopefully, the tournament will grow and prosper in the next few years.

The logistics certainly are more convenient than say, the Nike Challenge girls tournament, which involves some vehicular use to get from site to site.

***

Congratulations to Dan Dierking and Victor Lei of Naperville Central and Miguel Calvillo and Ryan Kristensen of Naperville North, who committed to play next year for St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

The 6-foot-5 Dierking was a pre-season Sun-Times top 50 player before suffering a knee injury the first weekend of the season.

***

Finally, as much as one would like to be, you can't be everywhere all the time. So while I have to apologize for not having the results from Minooka and Downers North reflected in this week's rankings, those results were never called in.

So Hinsdale Central remained at No. 5 despite a loss to Neuqua Valley, and Glenbard East should be 17-0 instead of 12-0.

Sorry, again. Coaches can e-mail results to preps@chicagosuntimes.com.