Cary-Grove not feeling the love on south side

Apparently, Cary-Grove cannot get any respect on the south side of Chicago.

But all that could change by the end of the week.

The Trojans (17-0), ranked second in the nation by Prepvolleyball.com and owners of a 33-match winning streak, are seeded second at this weekend’s Asics Challenge hosted by Mother McAuley.

Seeded first is Berkeley Prep of Tampa, Florida, which was 9-0 and ranked ninth by Prepvolleyball.com in its latest rankings released September 23. Marist is seeded third, McAuley seventh and St. Francis, which split two matches with the Macs, is ninth.

For Cary-Grove, the defending Illinois Class 4A champion, the seedings set up a potential championship quarterfinal against McAuley and a semifinal with Marist.

The guess here is that everybody wants a crack at Kelly Lamberti, Colleen Smith, Ashley Rosch and the Trojans.

The guess is also that if Cary-Grove survives this weekend unscathed, there could be a new No. 1 in the country next week.

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Other Illinois teams scheduled to compete at the Asics Challenge are Joliet Catholic (seeded 11th), Sandburg (13th), Rockton Honoegah, Crystal Lake South, Nazareth Academy, Downers Grove North, Stagg and Downers Grove South.

Huntley, which won the McAuley Preview two weeks ago, earned entry into the Challenge next year.

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Cary-Grove continues to lead the list of Illinois teams among Prepvolleyball.com’s top 100. Also checking in are No. 10 Lyons (18-1), up from 11th but likely to fall slightly after losing at Rich East; No. 11 Breese Mater Dei (19-0), and No. 35 Marist (18-0), unchanged.

Also ranked are No. 54 York (22-3), up one from 55 but also likely to dip slightly; No. 66 Moline (16-2); No. 68 Quincy (17-1); No. 91 St. Francis (19-3), which climbed from No. 96 before losing twice at Rich East.

Teams on the bubble include: Benet, Hersey, Joliet Catholic, Lemont, Libertyville, Lincoln, Marian Central, Mother McAuley, Payton and West Chicago.

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Wheaton Warrenville South girls coach Bill Schreier, who has won more state titles (five) on the boys side than any other coach in Illinois history, hates to finish second at anything – even when it comes to raising money for cancer research.

After raising more than $10,000 for “Volley for the Cure” two years ago, the WW South Tigers doubled that last year, raising more than $20,000. The girls sold T-shirts, held a silent auction, worked at local businesses for donations, sold raffle tickets and held a fundraiser at the Warrenville post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“We are shooting for $25,000 this year,” Schreier said.