Wheaton Classic pool assignments, seeds announced

Joliet Catholic ran into a buzzsaw Monday at Waubonsie Valley, but the Angels still figure to be a contender in Class 3A this season.

Two-time defending Wheaton Classic champion Benet got the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament which begins Wednesday, September 18 with pool play at Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools.

But the Redwings will have to defend their title without 6-foot-2 senior middle hitter Brittany Pavich.

Pavich has been battling shoulder issues and has been sidelined since the beginning of the season. An MRI revealed there was no structural damage, but coach Brad Baker said she is still at least two weeks from returning to the court.

Meanwhile, the Redwings open tournament play September 18 at 5:00 p.m. in a Pool A match against Hinsdale South at Wheaton North. Benet will then take on the host Falcons in the second round of pool play at 6:30 p.m. Hinsdale South faces Wheaton North at 8:00 p.m.

Plainfield North drew the No. 2 seed, followed by Marist, St. Charles North, Naperville North, Sandburg, Waubonsie Valley and Oak Park-River Forest.

The rest of the pool schedule looks like this:

Pool B: Plainfield North vs. Naperville Central, 5:00 p.m.; Plainfield North vs. Downers Grove South, 6:30 p.m., Naperville Central vs. Downers Grove South, 8:00 p.m.

Pool C: Marist vs. Prairie Ridge, 5:00 p.m.; Marist vs. WW South, 6:30 p.m.; Prairie Ridge vs. WW South, 8:00 p.m.

Pool D: St. Charles North vs. Plainfield Central, 4:00 p.m.; St. Charles North vs. Hinsdale Central, 6:30 p.m.; Plainfield Central vs. Hinsdale Central, 8:00 p.m.

Pool E: Naperville North vs. Downers Grove North, 5:00 p.m.; Naperville North vs. Rosary, 6:30 p.m.; Downers Grove North vs. Rosary, 8:00 p.m.

Pool F: Sandburg vs. Neuqua Valley, 5:00 p.m.; Sandburg vs. Wheaton Academy, 6:30 p.m.; Neuqua Valley vs. Wheaton Academy, 8:00 p.m.

Pool G: Waubonsie Valley vs. Lemont, 5:00 p.m.; Waubonsie Valley vs. Glenbrook South, 6:30 p.m.; Lemont vs. Glenbrook South, 8:00 p.m.

Pool H: Oak Park-River Forest vs. Libertyville, 5:00 p.m.; Oak Park vs. Evanston, 6:30 p.m.; Libertyville vs. Evanston, 8:00 p.m.

Pools A, D, E and H will be played at Wheaton North. Pools B, C, F and G are at Wheaton Warrenville South.

The tournament resumes Saturday with the Bronze division beginning at 8:00 a.m. The Silver flight starts at noon and the Gold at 1:00 p.m. The Silver and Gold flights will alternate until the tournament is completed.

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No. 7-ranked St. Charles North improved to 10-0 Tuesday by defeating Batavia 25-23, 25-21. Taylor Krage led the North Stars with nine kills and nine digs, and Daley Krage added five kills and six digs. Sydney Wohlert added 15 assists and Taryn DalDegan had eight.

St. Charles North hosts St. Charles East next Tuesday in the fifth annual Volley for the Cure match.

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The Minooka girls’ volleyball team spent a half-day on a bus travelling to the Tiger Classic in Edwardsville last weekend. The Indians finished fifth in the tournament, defeating Carlinville 25-16, 25-18 and Auburn 25-10, 25-12 in pool play before losing to Bloomington, 21-25, 27-25, 15-11.

In the Silver division playoffs, Minooka defeated Farmington, Missouri 25-22, 25-13 and Decatur St. Theresa 25-23, 16-25, 15-10.

Skyler Day was named to the all-tournament team after compiling 39 kills, 15 digs, eight aces and six blocks. Ginger Perinar added 25 kills and five aces, Jessica Karalow added 19 kills, 13 aces and 8 blocks,

Brenna Perinar had 15 kills and Cindy Ley and Emily Hise each had nine kills. Kelly Clucas had 51 assists and eight aces, Megan Bauer had 49 assists and seven aces, and Natalie Yard had 22 digs and seven aces.

“The girls really came together last weekend,” Minooka coach Chris Hoelscher said. “Our first two matches (an 0-2 start to the season) we didn’t have much of a flow. Friday night changed all that, and everything seemed to fall into place.

“Everyone contributed to every win,” she added. “There was a total team effort. We saw many positives in all five matches.”

Minooka followed up its weekend performance with a strong effort against Plainfield North Tuesday, falling 25-19, 19-25, 25-19.

Day led Minooka (4-4) with 13 kills, two blocks and three digs, Ginger Perinar added seven kills, Karalow added six kills and three blocks, and Bauer and Clucas each had 14 assists.

“We really showed what we can do tonight,” Hoelscher said. “It was a breakout blocking performance, especially in the second set. We did a lot right tonight. What a dogfight! This was a great high school match with both teams playing hard and at a high level.”

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Jacobs tournament champion Rockford Boylan, which defeated Catholic Memorial of Waukesha (Wis.) in the championship match, placed two players on the all-tournament team – Bryanna Weiskicher and Bridget Guinane.

Also named to the all-tournament team were: Mackie Traub and Kassie Kasper of Jacobs; Ashley Raby and Frankie Cavallaro of Dundee-Crown; Maddie Hutchinson and Grace Tiesman of Wheaton North; and Khaila Donaldson and Kara Maleski of Stevenson.

Also named to the all-tournament team were Courtney Stedman and Gabry Olhaus of Hersey; Meghan Seymour and Abby Schebel of Cary-Grove; Brittany Laffin and Erin Foss of Hampshire; and Kassi Dvoracek and Lauren Levevenz of Crystal lake Central.

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Lincoln-Way Central will take a 3-0 record into Thursday’s match with Providence after defeating Joliet Central 25-7,25-7 behind 5-foot-9 senior rightside hitter Claire Vrabec, who had eight kills, three blocks, an ace and five service points.

“That was definitely the best match of her varsity career so far in terms of how hard she hit,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Kathy Sulkowski said. “She definitely was a game-changer for us.”

Jacqueline Langer leads the Knights in kills with 42 and Maria Brown has 26 kills, a team-high 50 digs and three aces. Toni Leitshuh has 42 digs in three matches and Mariel Leibovitz has 82 assists. Brown and Vrabec lead the team with three aces apiece.

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PrepVolleyball.com has been releasing its Senior Aces list, the top 250 volleyball recruits in the Class of 2014, over the past several days. The list includes a handful of seniors from Illinois, including:

2. Ali Frantti, 6-foot-2 outside hitter, Richmond-Burton (Penn State).

“Touching almost 10-foot-5, Frantti’s ability to hit the most ridiculous angles with pace have left coaches, fans and teammates grinning,” said Prepvolleyball.com’s John Tawa. “Frantti will make an immediate impact at the school of her dreams in the fall of 2014.”

11. Taylor Tashima, 6-foot setter, New Trier (Northwestern)

“Tashima is a complete setter with a tremendous feel and understanding of the game,” Tawa said. “Tall, very athletic and left-handed, it’s hard to pick just one skill that she excels at more than the rest. As talented as she is, there’s no one that works harder than Tashima in the gym.”

18. Maddie Haggerty, 6-foot-2 outside hitter, St. Francis (Nebraska)

“Haggerty has no weaknesses, and with a 10-2 jump, she is a dominant point scorer from either pin,” Tawa said. “Well trained, versatile, strong, competitive and a team leader, Haggerty will join her sister Meghan at the University of Nebraska.”

22. Rachel Minarick, 6-foot-3 setter, Waubonsie Valley (Michigan State)

“Minarick is an ultra-physical setter whose only ceiling is greatness,” Tawa said. “Her physicality has a profound effect on everything she does in volleyball, whether it’s her ability to set pin to pin, be a shutdown blocker or very strong attacking option when she is in the front row.”