Recently in Boys Volleyball Category

By Phil Brozynski

Who are they kidding?

The Illinois High School Association released the list of sectional assignments for boys volleyball last week, and if there ever was a miscarriage of justice, this was it.

The Willowbrook sectional reads like a who's who of boys state powers including defending state champion Wheaton Warrenville South, Glenbard East, Hinsdale Central, Lyons, Benet, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Downers Grove South and St. Francis.

That's nine teams that in any given year that are capable of winning a state title fighting for one quarterfinal berth.

Meanwhile, the Elgin sectional has Addison Trail and Bartlett, Maine South has New Trier and Maine South, Highland Park has Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills, T.F. North has Marist and Sandburg, and St. Rita has Brother Rice and St. Rita.

St. Ignatius has Oak Park and St. Patrick, and Oswego East has Neuqua Valley and nine downstate schools.

No sectional other than Willowbrook has more than two teams likely to be ranked in the top 10, and most only have one. A couple have none.

Early prediction? The winner of the Willowbrook sectional, which figures to be either Wheaton South or Glenbard East, should win state. Realistically, Marist (coached by former Sandburg great Bob St. Ledger) and Sandburg are all that could stand in the way.

But it's early.

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Ten Illinois players were named All-American by Prepvolleyball.com.

"To be a high school All-American, you must have made a massive impact on your high school team," said John Tawa of Prepvolleyball.com. "You must be one of the top three-to-five players in your state regardless of class unless you are from hotbeds like California, Texas, Indiana and Illinois, where you must be among the 10 best players."

Representing Illinois on the All-American team are Des Aramburu of Mother McAuley, Kayla Fitterer of Edwardsville, Annemarie Hickey of Joliet Catholic, and Laura Homann of St. Charles East.

Also, Jessica Jendryk and Ariana Mankus of Benet, Emily McGee of Naperville Central, Angela Rego of Metamora, Carly Thomas of Belleville Althoff, and Hannah Werth of Chatham Glenwood.

Named to the Highest Honorable Mention team were Andrea Bolt of Freeburg, Courtney Cunningham of (Chicago) Payton, Stephanie Holthus of Burlington Central, Amanda Peterson of Glenbard East, Kelsey Robinson of St. Francis, Laura Thole of Breese Mater Dei and Gina Vera of Joliet Catholic.

By Phil Brozynski

Peter Dabrowski, a 6-foot-7 middle hitter for DuPage Valley Conference power Glenbard East and Sports Performance 18 Elite, has committed to George Mason University, SPVC boys director Bryan Johnwick recently announced.

Dabrowski had 163 kills and 122 blocks for No. 2-ranked Glenbard East (36-4) last year including 10 kills in the Rams' state quarterfinal upset loss to Neuqua Valley.

Dabrowski will join a growing number of former area standouts now playing at George Mason including 6-5 junior setter Ryan Kwiatkowski (Neuqua Valley) and 6-6 junior outside Ben Nichols (Glenbrook North).

Dabrowski will likely be among the candidates to replace 6-5 outside hitter Kyle Gramit (Naperville North), who was Mason's leading hitter last year and an all-EIVA (Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) selection.

George Mason finished 20-8 last season, losing to top-ranked Penn State in the EIVA championship. George Mason is located just outside Washington, D.C. in Fairfax, Virginia and enrolls nearly 18,000 undergraduate students.

By Phil Brozynski

The plan is to play some of the matches at Mother McAuley, but the Mighty Macs won't get any closer to the floor than the bleachers.

Brother Rice volleyball coach Brother Paul Ickes, C.F.C. is attempting to bring some of the top boys teams from Illinois and across the country together April 24-25 for the 1st Annual Brother Rice Crusader Smack Down.

The tournament would be played at Brother Rice, Mother McAuley and St. Xavier University, which has hosted a number of Illinois High School Association events including boys and girls basketball supersectionals at its Shannon Center.

Among the Illinois teams invited to participate are defending champion Wheaton Warrenville South, perennial power Sandburg, Belleville Althoff, Buffalo Grove, Lincoln-Way East, Lyons, Neuqua Valley, Providence, Marist, Glenbrook North and St. Francis.

The out-of-state invitees include Catalina Foothills (Tucson, Ariz.), Loyola (Los Angeles (Calif.), Mira Costa (Calif.), Valencia (Calif.), Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), St. John's Prep (Danvers, Mass.), St. Louis University (Mo.), and Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio).

"Mother McAuley has paved the way and set the standard for hosting national volleyball tournaments such as the Nike Challenge and the Chicago Challenge featuring 2007 NCAA champion Penn State," Ickes said.

"I think we can host a tremendous tournament experience on our three campuses," he added.

The two-day, five-match format would employ six-to-eight courts each day. Fans will be able to walk from one campus to another within minutes.

Invitations were mailed September 22. If Bro. Ickes can pull it off, the Smack Down could become one of the premier high school sporting events anywhere in the United States.

By Phil Brozynski

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.

By Phil Brozynski

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

By Phil Brozynski

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

By Phil Brozynski

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.

By Phil Brozynski

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.

By Phil Brozynski

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.

By Phil Brozynski

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.