There is some question whether Hampshire will compete in Class 2A or 3A during the 2008-2009 school year (Hampshire is appealing IHSA executive director Marty Hickman’s ruling that the school is 3A following an anticipated influx of nearly 200 new students due to a boundary change).

Sisters Kara and Amy Wehrs were named to the all-tournament team at last weekend’s Junior Volleyball Director’s Association (JVDA) National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky after helping top-seeded Club Fusion 16 Black win the 16 Open title.

Only two weeks ago, Kara Wehrs, a 5-foot-11 setter, was named the most outstanding player after leading Fusion over 1st Alliance for the 16s title at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

However, last weekend at the JVDA tournament, MVP honors went to the Wehrs’ teammate Stephanie Holthus, a 5-11 outside from Burlington Central. Holthus rallied Fusion to a 21-25, 21-25, 25-18, 28-26, 15-13 victory over MAVA 16 Elite in the title match.

Another standout in the match for Fusion was Plainfield North’s Kylee Baker, a powerful and promising 6-foot outside hitter whose move to libero to start game three coincided with Fusion’s big rally.

The rest of the Fusion roster included Prairie Ridge’s Taylor Brauneis, Barrington’s Emily Harris, Crystal Lake Central’s Julie Jeziorwoski, Marian Central’s Mary Kate Manning and Deerfield’s Taylor Stanfel.

***

The south side of Chicago was also represented in the winner’s circle at Louisville when Celtic Force 17 Green defeated Milwaukee Sting 17 Black 25-17, 25-22 to win the 17 Club division. Celtic Force came all the way back after losing two early pool matches.

Leading the way for Celtic Force was 17 Club MVP Kelly Griffin of Mother McAuley, who figures to lead the Mighty Macs back to Bloomington in November.

Among Griffin’s Celtic Force teammates were McAuley classmates Catherine and Delores Wildner, Mount Assisi’s Mary Broadhurst and Providence’s Kayla Duffy and Mary Kate Schmidt. Duffy and Broadhurst also made the all-tournament team.

***

It was no surprise that Sports Performance 18 Elite finished an 83-0 campaign by beating Asics Munciana Samurai 25-18, 26-24, 26-24 in the JVDA 18 Open championship match in front of an estimated 1,500 people.

Behind MVP and Joliet Catholic graduate Kelly Murphy, Sports Performance dropped just two games all weekend.

What was a little surprising was that the 18 group was not the only Sports Performance team to bring home some championship hardware.

Sports Performance’s 17 Mizuno team, which features some of the top seniors-to-be in the western suburbs, defeated tournament MVP Hannah Werth and top-seeded Illini Elite 17 Cardinal 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 to win the 17 Open title.

Sports Performance’s Amanda Peterson (Glenbard East), Natalie Patzin (Benet) and Emily McGee (Naperville Central) were named to the all-tournament team. The roster also includes Naperville Central’s Meghan Bray and Benet’s Ariana Mankus.

More than 1,500 fans jammed steamy Neuqua Valley High School Wednesday to watch the nation’s best junior club volleyball team battle one of Japan’s top high school school teams.

Sports Performance used its superior height and physical strength to great advantage against the smaller, quicker visitors. Still, a few of the balls that came back took the local all-stars by surprise.

“There’s no question we’re more physical than they are, but there’s also no question they have phenomenal skill,” Sports Performance coach Rick Butler said. “We knew they would dig a lot of balls. It was a great match”

This was the first trip to the United States for many of the Kyushu Bunka Gakuen players, who arrived Tuesday for the exhibition and to participate in the Junior Volleyball Directors Association tournament this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.

Among the standouts for Kyushu Bunka Gakuen, a year-round private school of about 700 students, are middle hitter Hiroka Kinoshita and outside hitters Mari Yamada, Kanako Maruyama and Saki Minemura.

“We have not had a chance to do any sightseeing,” Minemura said through an interpreter. “We had to study. We will do some sightseeing beginning July 1.”

Despite facing the likes of the 6-foot-2 Colleen Ward, 6-1 Kelly Murphy and 6-foot Katie Post, Minemura said Sports Performance was not the biggest team Kyushu Bunka Gakuen has faced.

“China,” Minemura said. “They’re big.”

***

Prior to taking on Kyushu Bunka Gakuen, Sports Performance 18 Elite dominated the field at the 35th Amateur Athletic Union Junior National Volleyball Championships in Lake Buena Vista, California June 20-22.

Former Joliet Catholic great and Florida-bound Kelly Murphy, who garnered Most Valuable Player honors for the second year in a row, led Sports Performance past Munciana Samurai in the 18 Open final.

Other standouts for the national champs included Colleen Ward (Naperville North/Florida), Becca Zlabis (Wheaton Warrenville South/Michigan State) and Megan Barnicle (St. Francis/Notre Dame).

Sports Performance lost just one game during the tournament. Sports Performance 18 White, the club’s third team, defeated Sports Performance 18 Red to reach the semifinals before falling to the eventual champions 25-12, 20-25, 15-11.

***

Hampshire’s Kara Wehrs was named the most outstanding player after leading Club Fusion 16 Black over 1st Alliance for the 16s title at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic in Wisconsin Dells on June 21.

Other award winners among the 16s at the Classic included: 1st Alliance’s Annemarie Hickey (Joliet Catholic), best attacker; Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles East), best blocker; and Emily Weber (Rosary), best teammate.

Fusion also won the Classic Cup, awarded to the club with the best overall performance at the tournament.

***

Rolling Thunder’s Kayla Price was name the best setter in the 15s division at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic. Price led Rolling Thunder to the quarterfinals before they lost to Fusion 15 Black.

If club play is any indication, Downers Grove South will be awful tough to beat this fall.

All 1st Alliance 17 Silver has done this summer is finish third out of 53 teams at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic June 15-17 in Wisconsin Dells and fifth out of 24 teams at the National Junior Classic at the Great Lakes Center May 24-26.

Other members of 1st Alliance 17 Silver include Mother McAuley defensive ace Sue Hayes, Lemont hitter Aubrey Sniegowski, Payton middle Courtney Cunningham, and Oak Park middle hitter Sara Shannon, who was named the Most Outstanding Blocker in the Dells.

1st Alliance 17 Black, powered by Downers South’s 6-1 setter Marielle Oestemeyer, has not done too badly, either. 1st Alliance Black finished seventh at NJC and fifth at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic.

***

Club Fusion 17 Black coach Chris Bronke, who coaches Barrington during the high school season, watched his team tie for fifth at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic.

Two of Black’s four losses in the Dells were three-set matches to FaR Out 17-1 (25-14, 20-25, 15-13), which finished second, and Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold (25-21, 20-25, 15-11), which won the NJC tournament and tied for third at the Dells.

Club Fusion 17 Black features talented players from the northwest and far west suburbs led by 6-2 middle blocker Samantha Thrower, who led Sycamore to a third-place finish in the inaugural Illinois High School Association Class 3A tournament last fall.

Other standouts for Fusion 17 Black were Crystal Lake South middle Erin Johnson, Prairie Ridge opposite hitter Sondra Parys, and Burlington Central setter Molly Turk.

***

Sports Performance is expanding into the far northwest suburbs. The Aurora-based club will be among the tenants when the new Lake Barrington Fieldhouse on Pepper Road opens sometime this year. The facility will feature indoor baseball diamonds and basketball and volleyball courts.

***

Rolling Thunder 17 Blue finished tied for 13th among the 53 teams at the PrepVolleyball.com Classic. Leading the way for Rolling Thunder was Lake Zurich’s 6-foot outside hitter Amber Miehlke.

The Japanese are widely recognized throughout the world as having the finest volleyball skills at the youth and junior level.

The Sports Performance 18 Elite team is 64-0 and ranked No. 1 in the United States by Prepvolleyball.com. Sports Performance is led by 2007 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and Florida recruit Kelly Murphy of Joliet Catholic.

Other team members are: Megan Barnicle (St. Francis), Julie Chin (Naperville North), Lettys Espinoza (Proviso West), Michelle Kocher (St. Francis), Mollie Kolosky (Wheaton Warrenville South), Katie Post (Streamwood), Colleen Ward (Naperville North), Christine Wu (Naperville North) and Rebecca Zlabis (WW South).

Sports Performance has won a total of 61 Amateur Athletic Union and United States Amateur Volleyball national championships since 1980 including the USAV 18 Open championship a national record eight times.

The match will be played in the main gymnasium at Neuqua Valley High School, 2360 95th Street (just west of Rt. 59) in Naperville. Admission is $3 for adults and students. Children under 12 are free.

For more inforrmation, contact Rick or Cheryl Butler at (630) 898-6400.

When it comes to the off-season, boys basketball has nothing on girls volleyball.

But before thinking ahead to the high school season in a few weeks, it’s always a good idea to take a little time to look back.

Here are the best players in the Chicago area over the past 26 seasons. And while looking at this list, think about who will be named the Sun-Times’ 2008 Player of the Year.

Will it be Benet’s Jessica Jendryk, who has already committed to Illinois? Or Mother McAuley’s powerful middle Kelly Griffin? How about Downers Grove South’s great outside Kelsey Safranek? Naperville Central’s explosive Emily McGee? Or will Payton's Courtney Cunningham become the Chicago Public School's first POY?

1982 Eva Murray, Mother McAuley
1983 Nancy Reno, Glenbard West
1984 Mary Eggers, West Aurora
1985 Cheryl Prihar, Oak Forest
1986 Barb Blizzard, Richards
1987 Julie Bremner, St. Francis
1988 Michele Kohler, Richards
1989 Kristin Henriksen, Immaculate Conception
1990 Kathleen Shannon, Immaculate Conception
1991 Sara Skyrd, St. Francis
1992 Michelle Battistella, Mother McAuley
1993 Nicole Peterson, Lockport
1994 Jeanine Szczesniak, Mother McAuley
1995 Ryann Connors, Mother McAuley
1996 Christie Landry, St. Francis
1997 Stephanie Jackson, Lockport
1998 Elizabeth Gower, Naperville Central
1999 Melissa Vandrey, Queen of Peace
2000 Marian Weidner, St. Francis
2001 Samantha Tortorello, Joliet Catholic
2002 Colleen Byrne, Sandburg
2003 Katie Brudzinski, Naperville North
2004 Laura Holloway, Barrington
2005 Jessica Yanz, Naperville Central
2006 Lindsey Mango, Naperville Central
2007 Kelly Murphy, Joliet Catholic

All weekend long, my fellow scribe from the other great metropolitan daily and I were musing how Wheaton Warrenville South was going to make us look like geniuses.

And don’t be surprised if WW South is ranked No. 1 in the preseason again next spring, and don’t be surprised if they win it all again.

There will be contenders – Marist, Sandburg, Glenbard East to name a few – but few teams capable of putting as many weapons on the court as WW South.

Meanwhile, it’s time to look forward to the fall and girls volleyball. Naperville Central, Benet and Downers Grove will be serious contenders, with Mother McAuley fielding another strong team along with St. Francis.

The list of top 50 girls players is already being compiled, and honestly, it’s a little crowded. Illinois continues to produce some of the best volleyball talent in the country – regardless of gender.

And finally, congratulations to Northside Prep's Nicole Flores, who was named "Coach of the Year' by the Chicago Public Schools. Flores guided her boys team to the city title this spring and her teams, boys and girls, are always among the citry's best.

It’s time to analyze the eight quarterfinalists in the Illinois High School Association’s 17th Boys State Volleyball Tourmament.

Glenbrook North
Record: 26-2
Strengths: Senior-dominated team led by outstanding outside hitter Billy Vydra (242 kills). Did not miss a beat when Tim Bedford was out for seven games midway through the season. Chris Curry and Sajid Bhimani are nice complements to Vydra. Chris Cooper is one of the best coaches in the state and always has his team prepared.
Weaknesses: Spartans have not proven they can win big game, losing in the finals of the Bison Battle against Naperville North and at the Tiger Classic against Wheaton Warrenville South. Have shown some tendency to relax with big lead and play down to competition. Have not played a ranked team since March. Very little height.
The skinny: The Spartans can be very, very good or wildy inconsistent (see Tiger Classic and 31-29, 28-26 road win at Brother Rice). They need to be on top of their game against Providence.

Brother Rice
Record: 28-11
Strengths: Kevin Padden (289 kills) can attack from anywhere. Padden, Steve and Mike Mattes and Kevin Donahue were all part of last year’s No. 1-ranked and unbeaten (heading into the quarterfinals) team. Played a very strong nonconference schedule including Sandburg, Marist, Lake Forest and Glenbrook North.
Weaknesses: This is not your average Brother Rice team. The Crusaders have very few quality wins and bad losses to Oak Park, Joliet and Lincoln-Way East. The Crusaders have been unable to develop much balance behind Padden.
The skinny: Brother Rice took advantage of a weak regional and sectional to reach the quarterfinals. It will be difficult for the Crusaders to get by a taller, more talented WW South.

Wheaton Warrenville South
Record: 31-7
Strengths: Tall, taller, tallest. The Tigers’ can throw up a formidable front wall featuring 6-10 Neill Nystrom, 6-9 Rob Samp, 6-7 Neal Whittington and 6-4 Eric Hardek. Five players have more than 100 kills. WW South also has tradition on its side. They expect to win at this level. Always play one of the toughest schedules around. Wins over Glenbrook North, Buffalo Grove and Glenbard East. Bill Schreier can X and O with the best of them.
Weaknesses: Service errors galore and inconsistency from the underclassmen. In a pivotal DuPage Valley Conference match against Glenbard East on their home floor, the Tigers literally handed the second game to the Rams by hitting all over the court.
The skinny: You cannot discount history and the drive to finish strong of senior Hardek, who still remembers the painful quarterfinal loss to Buffalo Grove in 2006.

Glenbard East
Record: 36-3
Strengths: Dan Mader. The best player in the area leads the team in kills (203) and assists (388). Great offensive balance with Tim Lovik (194 kills), Mark Jones (179) and Peter Dabrowski (153 kills, 122 blocks). Have won 15 in a row since loss to WW South at Downers Grove South. Tough schedule. Wins over Neuqua Valley and WW South (twice). Decent height. Great team chemistry. The Rams love to have fun.
Weaknesses: Occasionally, their defense is suspect. Balls will hit the floor with maddening regularity. Can be extended.
The skinny: There isn’t a better offensive team in the field. The Rams can come at you from any direction. Mader and Jones play off each other well, especially in transition. A Glenbard East vs. Providence final is not out of the question.

Neuqua Valley
Record: 36-3
Strengths: Five players with more than 100 kills led by all-area selection Jake Blackman (294) and Rob Bauer (208). Adequate if not great size. Brian Clark and Derek Menendez can hold their own at the net. Experience from finishing third last year, although got a break by facing (Chicago) Whitney Young in 2007 quarterfinals.
Weaknesses: Schedule. The Upstate Eight is not the DuPage Valley. Too many wins against inferior competition. The Wildcats lost twice at Benet to St. Francis and Naperville Central. Needed to fight off match point in game two to get past Central in the sectional final and just got by Joliet Catholic in the regional final.
The skinny: Neuqua took a game off Glenbard East at the Springfest tournament in early April, so there should be no surprises in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats showed they can deal with adversity, but upsetting Glenbard East will be a tall order.

Oak Park
Record: 17-22
Strengths: Sophomore setter Tim Schmidt will be a good one by the time his high school career is over. Junior Mark Brady is solid on the outside (219 kills), and Charlie Kahn and Blake Austin can plug the middle. Don August has done a good job rebuilding the program. A strong pre-tournament schedule (Naperville Central, St. Francis, Glenbrook North) helped Oak Park win the traditionally-weakest sectional in the state
Weaknesses: Oak Park has not shown it can beat good teams on a consistent basis, going 0-5 at the Tiger Classic in March and 2-3 at the Glenbrook North invite (beating Nazareth and York) in early May. Huskies lost five of their last six regular-season games. Youth.
The skinny: This is an experience-building year for the Huskies, who have only four seniors on the roster.

Buffalo Grove
Record: 29-5
Strengths: Six-foot-6 Joe Ascher (356 kills) and junior outside Chris Falknor are a solid 1-2 punch and setter Tom Angerame (830 assists) is experienced and savvy. Middle Jim Wizniak (213 kills) has to be respected. Matt Bronson (561 digs) is one of the better liberos around. Coach Matt Aiello never lets his team get down emotionally.
Weaknesses: A fourth quality tournament would have helped prepare the Bison for what should be a difficult semifinal. By getting the No. 1 seed at sectional, they avoided having to play Lake Forest a third time. The Bison rely heavily on Ascher, and if he is off they could struggle.
The skinny: The Bison should advance to the semifinals and walk away with a trophy. Anything more is a bonus.

This is a story about Chicago Corliss and its decision to play Brother Rice in a boys volleyball regional quarterfinal Monday.

According to Tina’s story, Public League director of sports administration Calvin Davis is encouraging schools to back out of the softball tournament to avoid embarrassment.

I guess things have changed in the city. When I was growing up on the south side of Chicago and somebody challenged you to something even as innocent as a checkers match, you were too embarrassed NOT to show up.

But if the Public Schools want to pick and choose which tournaments they play, then I have a suggestion for schools scheduled to play Public League teams in one of the sports in which they do excel – basketball.

Next year, if it looks as if Marshall is going to walk off with another Class 3A title in boys basketball and North Lawndale is going to run roughshod over the overmatched 2A field, just don’t show up.

After all, why should Providence St. Mel have to absorb a 103-38 licking by Lawndale? Why should Holy Trinity have to stand for an 87-46 flogging by the Phoenix? And why shouldn’t Walter Lutheran walk away from a 72- 40 whipping.

Class 3A boys champion Marshall was not adverse to “embarrassing” its opponents last year, either, unmercifully whipping Wheaton Academy 89-42 and knocking off North Chicago 84-54 en route to the 3A title.

I guess it’s OK, however, if it’s the Public Schools doing the humiliatin’, even if it’s to each other. Why else would this little “editorial” appear on the IHSA ScoreZone boys volleyball page underneath the heading, “At Chicago (Lincoln Park),” referencing Orr’s decision not to show up for a regional quarterfinal against Crane on Monday.

"Chicago Orr forfeited. There was no common courtesy of a phone indicating that they would not be present.”

I guess they were too embarrassed to call.

So kudos to Corliss, which could have taken Davis’ advice and not shown up Monday to play Brother Rice. But they did, and they lost.

But they're winners in my book.

Top-ranked Providence won the Deerfield round-robin tournament Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. The Celtics had not played in 10 days and the rustiness showed against a very strong field that included Deerfield and Rusty Lavaja and improving St. Charles North team.

Providence (23-0, 9-0 in the Catholic League) got a big lift from Brian Urchell, who stepped in after the Celtics’ starting libero, John Cichy, was injured.

“Our three captains, (Dan) Ruzich, (Eric) Daliege and (Jonathan) Gustafson, did an excellent job keeping their teammates focused and driving hard to win in each match,” Olczyk said. “We are very proud of the entire team for playing so wll at this tournament."

Providence defeated Addison Trail, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20; St. Charles North 19-25, 25-20, 26-24; Joliet 25-14, 25-20; Libertyville 25-10, 25-23; and Deerfield 23-25, 25-16, 25-20.

Gustafson led the Celtics with 173 assists, 51 service points, 10 aces and five kills; Daliege added 44 service points, two aces, 36 kills and 11 blocks; Ruzich had 44 kills, 168 digs and five blocks; Hayden Grove had 61 kills and nine blocks; and Chase Pavlick contributed 102 digs and 14 kills.

Providence faces another tough test Monday when it travels to Wheaton to take on St. Francis, which won the Lakefront Challenge at Latin on Saturday to improve to 29-3.

◘ Marist fans are holding their breath regarding the status of two of the RedHawks starters, setter Ryan Thomas and middle Matt Jercich. Both were injured during Saturday’s Richards Invitational.

Thompson suffered what appeared to be a serious wrist injury during game two of the RedHawks’ loss to Lake Forest in the championship match, and Jercich went down in serious pain with an ankle injury early in game three.

Six-foot-4 sophomore Dave Nelson stepped in for Jercich and delivered three kills and a block in the third game, but Thomas’ absence forced coach Bob St. Leger to employ 6-6 sophomore Joe Smalzer as his second setter.

◘ Glenbard East will try to wrap up its first-ever DuPage Valley Conference title this week when it hosts West Chicago on Tuesday and visits Naperville Central on Thursday.

Glenbard East can do no worse than tie for the title no matter what happens. But the Rams can win the title outright with a win over West Chicago or a loss by Central at Wheaton South on Tuesday.

Prospect is just 2-6 in the Mid-Suburban League East, but that did not prevent the Knights from taking Neuqua Valley to three games Monday in Naperville.

Prospect (20-11) trailed 18-13 in game three, but an ace by Ben Moxley pulled the Knights within 22-20. A kill by Neuqua Valley middle Derek Menendez off an overpass and an ace by Clark allowed Neuqua Valley to escape with the win.

“We need to play more consistent defense,” Blackman said. “Our blocking was there and our offense was there. Everything was working for us. Once we get our defense and passing down, everything else should be OK.”

Prospect got 16 kills from 6-2 senior outside Scott Pickle and 11 kills and two blocks from 6-5 junior Kevin Reed, who has been the Knights’ most consistent player. Reed did not miss a serve in 11 attempts and added an ace.

“Our offensive game plan broke down a little bit tonight,” Prospect coach Mike Riedy said. “We let them run too many points with the serve.”

◘ Sandburg went just 2-3 at last weekend’s Lincoln-Way East tournament with eight seniors missing due to prom. Nevertheless, the Eagles’ junior varsity team nearly knocked off Lyons in pool play Friday, falling 25-23, 25-23, and extended No. 1 seed Naperville Central to three games in the silver division semifinals.

Brother Rice continues to struggle, losing to Joliet and Lake Forest in pool play and Lincoln-Way East in a silver division semifinal. Naperville Central also struggled all weekend, going 1-2 in pool play (losing to a short-handed Stagg team).

Despite its poor performance in pool play, Naperville Central managed to win the silver division with wins over the Sandburg “JV” and Lincoln-Way East.

◘ The seeds and pairings for the 2008 boys state volleyball tournament were released by the Illinois High School Association last week, and although No. 1 Providence and No. 2 Glenbard East are in opposite brackets, neither team has a free ride to the state finals.

Providence would have to get past Lincoln-Way Central in the sectional semifinals, either No. 6 Sandburg or Marist in the sectional finals and No. 3 Glenbrook North in the quarterfinals just to earn a semifinal berth against defending state champion and No. 4-ranked Wheaton Warrenville South.

All Glenbard East has to do is beat Addison Trail in a sectional semifinal, either Lyons or Hinsdale Central in the sectional final and Neuqua Valley in the state quarterfinals to reach the semifinals against either Buffalo Grove or Warren.

Meanwhile, Brother Rice’s current struggles have created hope among the teams assigned to the Mt. Carmel sectional, particularly No. 2 seed Oak Lawn, which won all three of its matches Saturday at Lincoln-Way East behind Randy Hansen.

Whoever wins the Mt. Carmel sectional would face WW South in the state quarterfinals, providing the defending state champions can get past St. Francis in the sectional finals

◘ George Mason’s Kyle Gramit, a 2005 graduate of Naperville North High School and a former Sun-Times All-Area selection, was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Second Team.

The 6-foot-5 opposite hitter ranked among the nation’s leaders in kills, points, blocks and aces per game. Gramit had 28 kills against New Jersey Institute of Technology and on March 7 led to Patriots to a 3-1 victory over Penn State, handing the 2008 national champions their only loss of the season.

Gramit was the only Illinois player among the 20 All-America selections.

Lyons’ Andrew Gulik has been around long enough to know that people don’t remember what you do in April. But beating your probable sectional semifinal opponent sure beats the alternative.

“This was a huge step for us,” said Gulik, whose team lost to Hinsdale Central twice in 2007. “It should give us some confidence. Last year when we played them in the sectional, things didn’t go our way. But if we see them again this year, this should help.”

Hinsdale Central (21-4) fell behind midway through game one and could not recover. Three errors, including one of eight service errors in the match by the Red Devils, contributed to a 8-3 run by the Lions.

Lyons (16-3) built a 20-14 lead in game two, but the Red Devils rallied behind a backrow kill from Pat Dodd (six kills) and an ace by Peter Netisingha (15 assists) to pull even at 22. Down 24-23, Hinsdale Central had two chances to pull even again, but could not convert.

A kill by Gulik ended the game and the match and left Hinsdale Central coach Len Serwat to lament his team’s woes at the service line.

“They played better than we did,” he said.”We didn’t play our best and they played very well. We missed too many serves. We played hard, but we didn’t play very sharp. We’re better than we showed.”

Clay Scott added 16 assists for Lyons.

“Except for a few points, I thought we played consistently,” Lyons coach Joann Pyritz said. “I thought our outside hitters did a good job hitting over their shorter blocks. I thought we managed the match well.”

Lyons, whose loss to Deerfield prevented it from competing in the gold division at Downers Grove South last weekend, finds itself in a similar situation this weekend at Lincoln-Way East. This time, the Lions must get past No. 5 Sandburg (20-4) to reach the gold division.

◘ Speaking of the Lincoln-Way East tournament, three of the four four-team pools could provide some fireworks.

Previously-ranked but always dangerous Naperville North and Lake Forest will go head-to-head in Pool A, Lincoln-Way Central and Naperville Central will meet Friday at 5:30 p.m. for the right to advance from Pool B, and Sandburg and Lyons will meet Friday at 5:30 p.m. to emerge from Pool D.

Brother Rice, which had lost three consecutive matches following Monday’s defeat to Oak Park, should get back on track in Pool C against Oak Lawn, Joliet and Maine East.

◘ Headscratcher? Carmel (19-9) had won 11 consecutive matches before going 2-3 at last weekend’s Glenbrook North invitational where it lost to Libertyville, Vernon Hills and host Glenbrook North.

However, Carmel returned to its winning ways Monday with a gutty 20-25, 25-20, 26-24 win over visiting Warren (28-3), which had not lost to an in-state opponent since early in the season against Highland Park.

Not every great player can be found on a team that is having a hugely successful season in terms of wins and losses, and not every set of brothers have the opportunity to share the pinnacle of sports with each other.

The Trojans are a young and inexperienced team that lost eight seniors from last year’s 24-13 regional finalist and whose second-best player may be Jay Petty’s younger brother Greg, a 6-4 freshman.

Despite the opportunity to play with his younger brother, the team’s lack of success has not been easy for Jay.

“It’s hard,” Petty said. “It’s hard to say how difficult it’s been.”

Jay Petty plays for Sports Performance during the club season where winning is almost taken for granted.

“At Sports Performance, you’re expected to win and win big,” he said. “Losing almost never happens.”

But the young Trojans may have turned the corner over the weekend.

Downers North defeated Homewood-Flossmoor and Schaumburg in pool play, then after losing to Joliet Catholic 21-25, 25-18, 25-16 in pool play, turned the tables on the Hilltoppers in the third-place match.

The Trojans also took Glenbard East to 27-25 in the first game of their championship semifinal.

“I think we’re putting it together,” Petty said. “A lot of our guys’ experience on the court is very limited. So this is a huge step for us.”

Meanwhile, watching his younger brother develop has been a bright spot for Petty.

“It’s fun for me to see him learn and get better,” Petty said. “He’s going to be a great player. This is a great learning experience for a freshman.”

Downers North coach Karen Eder has also been pleased with the development of the younger Petty.

“He’s a sponge,” she said. “He is the most coachable, most responsive player I’ve ever coached. He’s going to be good.”

One of the most eagerly-awaited moments of the spring sports season took place Monday – the Illinois High School Association’s “rolling of the peas.”

The first three quarterfinals on May 30 could look something like this: Providence, Marist or Sandburg vs. Glenbrook North; Brother Rice vs. Wheaton Warrenville South; and Glenbard East or Hinsdale Central vs. Neuqua Valley, Naperville North or Naperville Central.

The final quarterfinal of the day will feature the winner of the St. Ignatius Sectional (possibly 2007 quaterfinalist Whitney Young) vs. the winner of the Stevenson Sectional (most likely either Buffalo Grove or Warren).

The Lincoln-Way Central Sectional (Providence, Marist, Sandburg, Andrew and Lincoln-Way Central) and the Naperville North Sectional (Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Benet, Waubonsie Valley) are easily the most loaded fields in this year’s tournament.

On the other side of the coin, Brother Rice should have an easy time getting through the Mt. Carmel Sectional, and Young could only have to contend with Oak Park, St. Patrick and Fenwick to advance from St. Ignatius.

◘ Evanston coach Mike McDermott would like the see the North Shore develop into a volleyball stronghold much like the western suburbs.

“Glenbrook North has a strong program and New Trier is always pretty good, but I’d like to see the North Shore become as deep and strong as the western suburbs with the DuPage Valley Conference and all the other great teams down there,” McDermott said.

McDermott brought his Evanston team to Lisle last weekend to play a nonconference match with Benet. Although the Wildkits lost 25-22, 25-20, McDermott has a couple of pieces to build around in 6-8 junior John Prout and sophomore outside hitter Charles Hopson.

Paul Springer, a 6-5 senior and one of the best players on the North Shore, led the Wildkits (3-5) with seven kills and three aces in the match.

◘ In personnel matters, Kathleen Russell, who led Barrington to the state championship match and a 33-3 record in 2005, is now a varsity assistant coach at Warren for head coach Yun Chen.

At Benet, former Naperville Central standout Mickey Perillo is serving as an assistant coach for Amy Van Eekeren, who was Perillo’s high school coach.

Most coaches agree that it’s not if you lose, but when.

So losing a match or two or three (although no team has won a state title with more than nine losses) during the regular season seems to have little bearing on postseason success.

Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza watched his team suffer its first loss of the season Saturday at the 10th Annual Springfest Boys Volleyball Tournament in Lombard. The Wildcats dropped a gutwrenching 25-22, 28-30, 25-22 decision to host Glenbard East in a semifinal.

Mendoza was more upset with his team’s performance from the service line than with the loss. Neuqua Valley (8-1) won the second game despite making eight service errors in its final 11 service attempts, then lost the deciding third game with a service error on match point.

“Mentally, those kill you,” Mendoza said. “There are times in a match when you have to get the ball in play. You don’t give yourself an opportunity to win when you serve the ball into the net.”

Neuqua had won its first seven matches including big wins over Naperville North, St. Charles North and St. Francis before Saturday’s loss to Glenbard East.

“It’s nice to get it out of the way,” Mendoza said.

Glenbard East (7-1) won the tournament for the fourth year in a row. The Rams regained the services of 6-foot-6 junior middle Peter Dabrowski for the championship match after he missed the team’s first seven matches for an athletic code violation.

One of the matches Dabrowski missed was a DuPage Valley Conference loss to Glenbard North.

Somebody asked Glenbard East coach Marci Maier if her team’s marathon win over Neuqua Valley had any significance coming on the heels of that loss.

“One game is not any more important than any other,” she said. “Every game is just practice until you get into the playoffs.”

◘ Look for Lake Forest to be a factor in the playoffs and the North Suburban Conference this spring.

The Scouts, under the direction of co-coaches Ray Werner and Joe De Rosa, reached the finals of the Springfest tournament by defeating Mid-Suburban League hopefuls Schaumburg and Conant.

Lake Forest (6-2) dropped the championship match to Glenbard East despite 11 kills from junior Larry Wrather. Wrather and middle hitters Alex Baraniewski, Ben Rockwell and Greg Warfield are the Scouts’ top weapons.

“It was a different feeling today than when we lost to Stevenson (earlier in the week),” Werner said. “It was fun to watch the level of play today. Larry at times is unstoppable. I enjoy watching him compete.”

Wheaton Warrenville South served notice that it will not relinquish its state volleyball title without a fight last weekend.

Led by tournament MVP Eric Hardek, the Tigers defeated New Trier, Buffalo Grove and Glenbrook North to win their first Tiger Classic title since 2004. WW South won with only two seniors on its roster – Hardek and libero Brian Williams.

Six-foot-7 junior middle Neil Whittington is expected to play for the first time this season when the Tigers resume DuPage Valley Conference play Tuesday.

◘ It became inevitable that when Marist opened its doors to girls a few years ago that the school’s athletic rosters would become dotted with both female and male members of the same family.

The 2008 boys volleyball team features three players whose sisters were standouts at Marist: senior libero Marco Loncar, whose sister Jenna is a freshman at Augustana; sophomore opposite Dave Nelson, whose sister Abby is a freshman at Illinois; and 6-7 junior opposite Joe Smalzer, whose sister Claire is now at Duke.

Marist lost twice at WW South, losing to Naperville Central in pool play Thursday and to York in the quarterfinals of the Silver division on Saturday. The RedHawks defeated Waubonsie Valley and Evanston to finish fifth in the Silver.

◘ Glenbrook South coach Tim Monahan said that 6-2 sophomore outside hitter C.J. Berg will be a player to watch in the next two years. Berg was named to the all-tournament team after leading Glenbrook South to the Bronze division title.

◘ Joining Berg on the all-tournament team were: senior opposite Joe Ascher of Buffalo Grove; senior setter Tim Bedford of Glenbrook North; senior outside Corey Bigham of Lincoln-Way Central; senior outside Matt Brahm of York; and senior opposite Erik Brand of New Trier.

Also, senior outside Jon Bunge of Naperville North; senior outside Randy Hansen of Oak Lawn; senior outside Matt Jercich of Marist; junior setter Joe Kelly of WW South; senior middle Sean Lischke of St. Louis DeSmet; and senior outside Kevin Padden of Brother Rice.

Rounding out the all-tournament team were senior middle Matt Pollock of Sandburg and senior middle Mark Shipp of Cincinnati Moeller.

◘ Lincoln-Way Central coach Joann Holverson is high on 6-3 senior outside Corey Bingham, who led the Knights to an eighth-place finish..

“He’s quiet and unassuming, but he’s been hitting the ball well for us lately,” she said.

◘ According to reliable sources, prior to their meeting at the Tiger Classic Saturday, Naperville North had defeated crosstown rival Naperville Central in 14 consecutive matches including DuPage Valley, invitational and state tournament play.

The Redhawks snapped the streak with a 19-25, 26-24, 25-20 victory in the fifth-place match Saturday.

◘ And finally, get well wishes to former New Trier standout Ted Garard. A rare skin disorder has sent Garard to the sidelines at Ball State. Garard is on medication and is expected to return to practice soon.