Boys Volleyball: July 2010 Archives

D1 18 Green Team at the 2010 USAV Junior National Championships in Austin, Texas. The team members are (top row, left to right) coach Adam Beck, Patrick Barry, David Suwada, Danny Podkowa, Matt Phillips and coach Matt Martin. (Bottom row, leftt to right) Peter Maniscalco, Jon Ruprecht, Reis Foster, Kevin Maxwell, Pedro Calatayud and Tim Nance. Photo courtesy of D1 Volleyball Club, Inc.

D1 Volleyball Club 18 Green placed fifth at the 2010 United States Volleyball Association (USAV) Boys Junior National Championships in Austin, Texas July 2-5.

D1 competed in the 18 Open division and defeated some of the club volleyball teams in the country over the four-day tournament, including Santa Monica 18 Black and Riptides OC 18 Orange from California. D1 was ousted by top-seeded Outrrigger Canoe Club (Hawaii), 32-30, 25-17, in the quarterfinals.

D1 18 Green was the top finisher from the Midwest region, which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio, and was the only Midwest team to finish in the Top 10.

"This was an awesome finish to a truly memorable season," said D1 club director Shane Davis. "These kids really rose to the occasion and played very well against some of the best volleyball teams in the country."

Matt Phillips from Minooka was selected to the all-tournament team. Seven members of the team, including Phillips, will move on to play collegiate volleyball at St. Xavier, Robert Morris, St. Ambrose, Carthage and Loyola.

D1 has locations in Skokie and Palos Hills.

The Illinois High School Sand Volleyball League, the result of the efforts of Brother Rice volleyball coach Paul Ickes, gets underway with its first set of matches on Monday, July 12 at Circle Park (97th and Homan) on the city's south side.

Teams can still form prior to Sunday, July 11. Participants signing up this week are required to attend a scheduling meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at Brother Rice High School.

There are three ways a team can sign up: through their schools, through their clubs or as an independent. Downloadable forms for all three are also at www.brvolleyball.com. Eligible players and divisions range from incoming freshmen through graduated seniors.

"If successful, our league and tournament would be the first statewide high school sand offering in the country," Ickes said. "We just need a few more teams, especially in the younger age divisions for both boys and girls, to move forward with a full program."

Fore more information, go to www.brvolleyball.com.