By Phil Brozynski

It was a good day for the locals at the 20th Anniversary Nike Challenge Saturday.

Defending state champion St. Francis (23-2), surprised by Marist 19-25, 25-20, 25-23 in Friday’s pool play, rebounded to beat Lone Peak (Utah) 25-19, 23-25, 25-17 in Silver bracket finals behind sophomore Kelsey Robinson’s 12 kills and Megan Barnicle’s 10 kills and four blocks.

Lone Peak (17-2) was ranked 38th in the country by Prepvolleyball.com coming into the tournament.

“After the disappointment Friday night, it says a lot about these girls to come back like this,” St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. “Lone Peak was very, very scrappy. We showed a little more excitement today and we communicated better.”

Downers Grove South (19-5), beaten by eventual champion Assumption in the Gold quarterfinals, finished fifth by defeating last year’s Illinois Class AA runner-up Rockton Hononegah (13-2), 25-22, 25-14.

“We have played a lot of games that have been very, very tight,” Downers South coach Colleen Reagan said. “But we find our groove and run with it.”

Christine Bowe led Downers South against Hononegah with nine kills, Kelsey Safranek added five kills and a block, Courtney Gosewisch collected eight digs and Colleen Dobry dealt 14 assists.

“One of our goals is to finish high in tournaments,” Reagan said. “We anticipated going pretty far here.”

Marist (15-7), which knocked St. Francis out of the Gold division Friday, lost to Joliet Catholic (25-22, 25-18) and Downers South (25-12, 18-25, 25-16) on Saturday. But the Redhawks finished on an upswing by defeating Pius XI 14-25, 25-19, 25-20 for seventh place.

“I’m very pleased,” Marist coach Natalie Holder said. “We have played in three very difficult tournaments (Rich East, St. Joseph, Mo. and the Nike). I even asked Colleen (Reagan) if we could get on their schedule next season. I’d rather play this kind of schedule.”

Sandburg (18-6) and Downers Grove North (17-6) also finished with wins. Downers North defeated Crystal Lake South to finish third in the Silver, and Sandburg avenged an earlier loss to Stagg to finish seventh in the Silver.

But the best showing of the day belonged to Mother McAuley (15-5), which beat Sacred Heart (Ky.) 22-25, 25-23, 25-19 in the semifinals. The Mighty Macs, who had their 13-match winning streak stopped by Assumption in a non-conference match Thursday, are rounding into a serious state contender.

“We knew we had some talented parts but that it would take a little more time to put it together,” McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said.

“We had some breakdowns in the first game (against Sacred Heart),” she added. “We had some trouble closing our blocks. But we changed the way we were blocking and that was the big thing.”

McAuley’s turnaround can be traced to 5-6 senior Melissa Joyce’s move to setter from outside hitter and the addition of 5-8 sophomores Jessica Falk and Jessica Galotta to the lineup two weeks ago.

“Melissa moving to setter has made a huge difference,” DeJarld said. “She’s an offensive weapon as a setter. She can hit left-handed, she can hit right-handed, and she’s more comfortable in that role (setter).”

Posted by Back Row at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Phil Brozynski

The Illinois High School Association held its “rolling of the peas” last week to determine the brackets for its four-class volleyball tournament.

If the tournament held to form – and how often does that happen? – the Class 3A semifinals would pit Bloomington (or Sycamore) and St. Francis (or Joliet Catholic) in one semifinal and Crystal Lake Central and Belleville Althoff in the other.

The Class 4A semifinals would feature Wheaton Warrenville South against Mother McAuley (or Stagg or Sandburg or Marist) and Schaumburg (or possibly New Trier) against Naperville North (or Naperville Central).

Closer to home, the Nike Challenge gets underway Friday with (who else?) Assumption (Ky.) at 17-1 and ranked third nationally (according to John Tawa of prepvolleyball.com) as the top seed. Sacred Heart (Ky.) at 19-5 and ranked 14th nationally is the second seed.

Although the non-locals have dominated this tournament in recent years, this could be the year a Chicago-area team breaks through in the championship game. St. Francis and Joliet Catholic figure to be among the top challengers.

Other Illinois teams to watch include unbeaten Stagg, Downers Grove South, Marist, Sandburg, and last year’s Class AA runner-up, Rockton Hononegah led by 6-5 Wisconsin recruit Elle Ohlander.

Speaking of recruits, Tawa recently released his list of the top 100 seniors in the nation, and to almost no one’s surprise, Joliet Catholic’s uncommitted Kelly Murphy is rated as the best senior in the country.

“Probably the most versatile player in the 2008 class, Murphy has the ability to be a top setter, hitter or even a defensive specialist at the next level because she can do it all,” Tawa said. “She is smooth and fluid on the floor in every way.”

Other Illinois seniors in Tawa’s top 100 include Naperville North’s Colleen Ward (No. 7), Collinsville’s Michelle Bartsch (16), Keith Country Day’s Jordan Haverly (20), Sandburg’s Alex Blatt (22), Ohlander (28), and Rosary’s Christine Hartmann (35).

Also, St. Francis’ Megan Barnicle (48), Bloomington’s Ashley Beyer (70), Wheaton Warrenville South’s Becca Zlabis (73), Streamwood’s Katie Post (76), Whitney Young’s Simone Asque (79), and St. Charles North’s Gretchen Giesler (80).

Other Illinois players in Tawa’s top 100 are Crystal Lake Central’s Kathryn Chrystal (83), St. Francis’ Michelle Kocher (84), Columbia’s Anna Eytchison (92) and Sycamore’s Allison Johnson (98).

Also, congratulations to (Elmhurst) Immaculate Conception’s Jean Field, who recently earned her 700th career win. I first met Jean in 1979 when her team defeated the Monmouth Zipperettes 20-11, 20-6 in the 1979 Class A quarterfinals. IC finished second that year.

Finally, it was a little disconcerting looking at the bronze brackets for the Nike Challenge on the Mother McAuley website. There in huge letters across the top of the bracket sheet are the words “Nike Challenge 2005.”

Did I miss something?

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By Phil Brozynski

Sandburg coach David Vales may never let Kelly Mendoza have her job back.

Vales took over the girls program this fall for Mendoza, who wanted to spend more time with her young family. After watching his team finish third at the DuPage Area Tournament in a field that included Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, Neuqua Valley and Prairie Ridge, he may never rescind the reigns.

"I'm very pleased," Vales said. "This is what I wanted the end of the season to look like. I didn't expect it to happen this quickly. Now we have more time to set up our offense and to find out how much deeper we can go on our bench."

Vales was particularly impressed with 5-foot-8 sophomore Mary Kate Imrie.

"I don't think she came out of the lineup one time the entire weekend," Vales said. "She did tremendous...defense, blocking. She had a nice tournament."

Sandburg finished the weekend with a memorable, if not rather lengthy, 25-20, 35-37, 25-15 victory over Downers Grove North in the third-place match.

"I'm very happy to finish third, especially since we're not from the DuPage area," he said.

Another happy coach was Naperville Central's Brie Isaacson, whose team finished fifth despite losing setter Megan McMahon earlier in the week. McMahon is out three-to-four weeks after having surgery Monday to remove her appendix.

"We have a different look right now," Isaacson said. "We have different weaknesses. But we also have different strengths. It's just going to take us awhile to start playing more consistently."

Neuqua Valley, the only team to beat Naperville North this season, lost to Naperville Central and Wheaton Warrenville South at the DuPage Area tournament. But the Wildcats took the Tigers to 29-27 in the third game of their match and took down Prairie Ridge in their tournament finale to place seventh.

"We started slow this week," Neuqua Valley's Paige Stevens said. "But I think we're finally clicking as a team. I'm glad we finished the tournament with a win."

Finally, there were two matches this week that demonstrated the foolishness of asking teams to play two sectional matches in one night.

Last Tuesday, Naperville North and Naperville Central locked up in a taut, grueling three-game match won by North 25-22, 19-25, 25-22. The match took more than 90 minutes. Can anyone imagine asking the winner to come back and play for a sectional title 15 minutes later?

And in the third-place match at the DuPage Area tournament, Sandburg and Downers Grove North locked up in a three-game match won by the Eagles 25-20, 35-37, 25-15. The second game alone took more than a half-hour to finish.

Could anyone have come back from that match and play again 15 minutes later for a sectional title?

Naperville North athletic director Doug Smith, one of the true good guys in high school athletics, said following the North vs. Central showdown, "The IHSA argues that in some tournaments teams play five matches in one day. But the thing is during the regular season, there's always next Saturday. There's no tomorrow in the sectional."

Posted by Back Row at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Phil Brozynski

The girls volleyball season is still young, but not as young as some of the players who are leaving an imprint on the 2007 season.

More and more sophomores – and even a few freshmen – are making the leap to the varsity level. And these players are not just filling roster spots. Like Joliet Catholic’s Kelly Murphy and Naperville North’s Colleen Ward two years ago, they are making a huge impact on the game.

The present looks good at Plainfield North, but the future may be even brighter. Coach Kerri McCastland is blessed to have two exceptional sophomores on her team in Sarah Scott, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter, and budding superstar Kylee Baker, a 5-10 outside hitter.

The Prairie Ridge Invitational showcased some young talent in St. Charles East sophomores Caroline Niski, a 5-9 outside hitter, and 5-11 outside hitter Jacqui Seidel, as well as Cary-Grove’s young duo of sophomore setter Abbey Heredia and promising freshman Kelly Lamberti.

Neuqua Valley upset Naperville North earlier this year behind the contributions of two sophomores – 5-10 outside hitter Nikki Feredico and 5-11 middle Emily Tulloch. The Huskies also showcased a sophomore in that match, 5-11 middle Audrey Wilson, who saw varsity time as a freshman.

Two sophomores sparked Sandburg’s upset of Mother McAuley last week – 6-1 middle hitter Lanie Muys and 5-8 outside Mary Kate Imrie, while Prairie Ridge hopes that 5-11 sophomore setter Taylor Brauneis can fill the shoes of Hillary Haen.

Perennial power Barrington is struggling through injuries and inexperience. But coach Chris Bronke is looking toward a brighter future with 5-10 outside hitter Katherine Leitner and 6-0 middle blocker Emily Harris.

At Downers Grove North, coach Laura Johnwick is getting solid contributions from a pair of young sophomores in outsides Robyn Eggert and Britta Baarstad, while Mundelein sophomore middle blocker Michelle Parssinen is establishing herself as a force at the net for the Mustangs.

Posted by Back Row at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

By Phil Brozynski

The Illinois High School Association released its 2007 girls volleyball tournament assignments today, and anyone who wanted a quick lesson in Illinois geography lesson sure got one.

Just how close to Naperville is Pekin?

Among a flurry of moves that will surely create some second-guessing, the IHSA’s decision to assign Class 3A and 4A teams to regionals based on geography rather than seeding if they were located outside the seven-county Chicago metropolitan area will raise a few eyebrows.

Two of the best Class 3A teams south of I-80, Bloomington and Morton, find themselves in the same five-team regional at Normal West. Meanwhile, just to the north and west, Metamora, Pontiac, Streator and Washington will vie for some regional hardware.

Huh?

As usual, most of the best teams in the western suburbs find themselves in the same sectional field. Downers Grove South, Benet Academy, Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley, Plainfield North, Providence and the hosts are among the teams assigned to Naperville North.

Can you imagine one of those teams not winning a REGIONAL?

There was some good news. Annual sectional combatants Barrington and Prairie Ridge, with five straight Class AA semifinal appearances between them, will not stumble all over each other on their way to state this year. They are headed in opposite directions.

The bad news? Both are rebuilding, and likely will not have to worry about reservations in Normal anyway.

Meanwhile, somebody is living right at Wheaton Warrenville South. Not only do the Tigers avoid the Naperville North sectional, they will not even see another serious state title contender until they get to Illinois State.

The IHSA did get one thing right. Barring a major injury or serious coaching guffaw, four of the top six teams in Class 3A – Belleville Althoff, Bloomington, Sycamore, Crystal Lake Central, Joliet Catholic and Wheaton St. Francis – should advance to the semifinals in Normal.

Jeopardy applies to either St. Francis or Joliet Catholic, who could meet in the St. Francis supersectional, and Bloomington or Sycamore, who should collide at Galesburg.

Posted by Back Row at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Phil Brozynski

Plainfield North High School is beginning just its third year of operation, but the school’s athletic administrators are already thinking ahead.

The “Best of the West” volleyball tournament hosted by Plainfield North on Thursday and Saturday, August 30 and September 1, featured the unusual championship bracket format of delaying the third-place match to play the title match immediately following the conclusion of the second semifinal.

So moments after Naperville North defeated Rosary 25-23, 25-20 in the second semifinal, the Huskies were back on the court to face the host Tigers, who had beaten St. Charles North 15-25, 25-18, 25-19 in the first semifinal an hour earlier.

The structure mimicked the Illinois High School Association’s new tournament format in which the regional and sectional championships will be played on the same evening. Ostensibly, the IHSA’s move was made to reduce travel.

Although few people agree with the IHSA’s decision and many hope the organization will rethink the move, the Plainfield North folks at least had the foresight to give tournament participants a little taste of what’s to come.

The Plainfield North folks want to make the “Best of the West” tournament one of the premier events of the volleyball season. They are certainly headed in the right direction.

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