Ultimate leads local entries at USAV boys nationals

Sun-Times Player of the Year Austin Royer (back row, fourth from left) of Lincoln-Way East and All-Area selection Brad McFarland (back row, third from right) of IHSA runner-up Lincoln-Way North helped lead Ultimate B17 Gold to an 11th-place finish at the recent USAV Junior Boys Volleyball Championships in Reno, Nevada.

Ultimate Volleyball Club of Frankfort led the local entries at the recent USAV Boys Junior National Championships in Reno, Nevada with a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 18 and 16 Open divisions, an 11th place finish in the 17 Open division and a 23rd-place effort in the 15 Open division.

Ultimate 18 Gold finished 6-3 in the 18 Open division behind Brother Rice junior and all-tournament selection Mitch Weiler; Ultimate 17 Gold finished 3-6 in the 17 Open division behind a trio of Lincoln-Way East players – Austin Royer, Nate Van Dellen and Ryan Vorderer – and Brad McFarland of Lincoln-Way North; and Ultimate 16 Gold finished 6-3 in the 16 Open division behind Sandburg sophomore and all-tournament selection Paul Chmura.

You can watch Weiler and his Ultimate 18 Gold teammates in action in Reno at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq0HHkdp8Sg.

Ultimate also finished 23rd in the 15 open division, going 3-6 overall.

Adversity 18 Purple out of Vernon Hills finished fifth in the 18 Open division at 6-3 behind all-tournament selection Carlos Zambrano, Adversity 17 Purple went 6-5 in the 17 Open division to tie Ultimate 17 Blue for 17th place, and Adversity 15 Purple went 5-4 good for 17th place in the 15 Open division.

Among other local entries, Nick Timreck of state champion Downers Grove South helped Sports Performance B18 Mizuno go 5-7 for 10th place in the 18 Open division, and Sun-Times All-Area selection Tom Wesolowski of Young and Will Kozlowski of Glenbrook South helped D1 Chicago 18 George take 17th place in the 18 Open division at 4-5.

Loyola’s David Wieczorek, another Sun-Times All-Area selection, helped lead Energy Boys 17 Nike to a 21st place finish in the 17 Open Division, Sports Performance finished 17th in both the 17 and 16 Open divisions, and UNO Boys 15 Elite finished in 15th place in the 15 Open division, going 6-7.

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Prepvolleyball.com recently released its list of the country’s top “Gym Dandies,” full-time back row players, both high school and club, nominated by their high school coaches and club directors.

Two local players – Benet’s Sheila Doyle and Libertyville’s Kristen Webb – were named to the first team. Doyle was a first-team Sun-Times All-Area selection who helped the Redwings win back-to-back state titles and is headed to North Carolina in the fall.

“Sheila is an extremely aggressive defender whose quickness and ability to read hitters is at an elite level,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “Sheila will have the chance to be a difference maker from Day 1 of her career at North Carolina.”

Webb was a second-team Sun-Times All-Area selection who led the state in digs last season with 775.

“Kristen is a tremendous leader with great ball-control skills,” Sky High’s Scott Harris said. “Her work ethic is amazing and she will pursue every loose ball on the court. She is quick, reads and anticipates extremely well.”

Named to the third team was Hersey’s Auburn-bound Taylor Schill, who had a school-record 636 digs in 2012 along with 40 aces. Nazareth’s Emily Milligan, a Sun-Times First Team All-Area choice, was named to the fourth team after recording 347 digs and leading the Roadrunners in serve-receive and aces.

Sophomore Carla Cahill of Mother McAuley was a fifth-team choice who had 552 digs for the Mighty Macs, while a little down the road Carolyn Yerkes of Marist was among the sixth-team honorees after amassing 475 digs and 30 aces.

Geneva’s Kelly Dalheim was an eighth-team selection after setting a school record with 573 digs, Stagg’s Morgan Thomas (464 digs, 71 aces and 307 service points) was a ninth-team selection and Katie Baki (Rosary) and Madeline Oh (Springfield) were 10th team choices.

Members of the 11th team included Lyons sophomore and Lions’ MVP Toni Saracco (606 digs, 24 aces), while Stevenson’s Peyton Bykowski was a 12th team choice.

Named honorable mention were Lyons freshman Madison Babich, Benet sophomore Natalie Canulli, Glenbard West junior Meg DeMarr, Benet senior Brittany Kmieciak, Lemont sophomore Haley Sullivan, and Benet junior Caroline Wolf.

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Minooka girls volleyball coach Chris Hoelscher is hosting a one-day Summer Scrimmage on Friday, July 12 at Minooka’s Central Campus, 301 S. Wabena in Minooka.

Twelve teams are participating in the scrimmage, which begins at 8:00 a.m.

“My goal is to provide an opportunity to play without committing to a league or feeling pressure to win a tournament,” Hoelscher said.

Pool 1 includes (1) Minooka, (2) Rock Falls, (3) Joliet Central and (4) Rosary. Pool 2 features (1) Sterling, (2) Jones Prep, (3) Joliet West and (4) St. Charles East. Pool 3 includes (1) Plainfield South, (2) Bolingbrook, (3) Chicago Christian and (4) Hinsdale South.

The schedule is as follows: 1 vs. 3, 8:00 a.m.; 2 vs. 4, approximately 8:30 a.m.; 1 vs. 4; 2 vs. 3; 3 vs. 4; and 1 vs. 2.