Breaking Down The Illinois Class 4A Sections and Top Seeds

As a relative newbie to Illinois high school volleyball, it was really interesting to see how the sectional lines were drawn and the layout of the tournament. I see plenty of similarities between the states I cover heavily (Wisconsin and Iowa). Some of these sections are really loaded with some of the top teams in the state. I know that has been a frustration in Illinois for quite some time. After going through the teams, there are plenty who are heading to play Division 1 volleyball, others who are definitely starting making a name for themselves, and those who could be potential dark horses. Here is a look at the top teams in each section with those who will be right on their heels the next two weeks. Bartlett Sectional - Willowbrook The Warriors head into the sectional tournament as the champions of the West Suburban - Gold Division and a 33-1 record. Their only loss of the season coming to Lincoln-Way Central. Sophomore, Calli Kenny leads the way with over 255 kills and nearly 200 digs. Kenny does it all where she sets for her club team at 1st Alliance, an extremely dynamic athlete who has been key to their success. Another key piece to this squad is senior libero, Elizabeth Bruschuk, who averages nearly four digs per set. This team is young and talented with a freshman attacker, Hannah Kenny, averaging nearly three kills per set and will set from the backrow averaging four assists per set. Their path to the sectional final could run into Campbell commit, Gwen Wolkow for Downers Grove North who is a four seed. The two seed is Wheaton Warrenville South who has plenty of state tournament experience as well as [player_tooltip player_id="61625" first="Darby" last="Harris"], a Rice commit who impacts the game from multiple positions and rotations. [caption id="attachment_163105" align="alignright" width="507"]<img class="wp-image-163105" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09697-1.jpg" alt="" width="507" height="340" /> Mother McAuley[/caption] Mother McAuley Sectional - Mother McAuley Oh I’ve heard plenty about this sectional. Traditionally one of the top sectionals in the state where teams who are not only state ranked, but nationally ranked end up going head to head. Mother McAuley is heading into the section as the top seed. They have three contacts that are so solid with Northwester libero commit, [player_tooltip player_id="138650" first="Gigi" last="Navarette"] to setter [player_tooltip player_id="61672" first="Caroline" last="Macander"] to the likes of outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="135954" first="Ellie" last="White"] for the kill. When taking a look at the top teams in the state and seeing a Whitney Young and OPRF as a four and five seed definitely sticks out. We see the same thing in the Milwaukee area with one of the sections out of Milwaukee. In Iowa, they draw their regionals the beginning of October to have a balance of the top teams to get the best teams at state. When you get the top teams to state, you get better matches at the state tournament. Fox Lake (Grant) Sectional - Hononegah Hononegah grabbed the top spot in the North with a 27-7 record, finishing second in the NIC 10 which was won by the top team in 2A in Belvidere North. The Indians have a trio of Senior attackers in Keira Shannon, Ella Jensen, and [player_tooltip player_id="61645" first="Emma" last="Schroeder"] who all have over 100 kills apiece. Senior, Olivia Heidel runs the show averaging nine assists per set. On the other side of the bracket is South Eglin who has a 30-4 record on the season and is led by recent Iowa commit Alyssa Worden, who can play with plenty of power, hammering nearly 400 kills this season. Pekin Sectional - Edwardsville and Moline Heading to Southwest Illinois there are two number one seeds, broken into two subsections with Edwardsville and Moline. Edwardsville is 28-7 and were undefeated champions of the Southwestern Conference. Edwardsville has a 1-2 punch of attackers in Gabby Saye and Emma Garner who are both averaging nearly three kills per set. Moline has been dominant all year, blazing through the Big Six Conference of teams surrounding the Quad Cities. Moline has a strong core of players who have found success at the club level in Iowa clubs that would include Iowa Select, Iowa Rockets, and Platform Elite. Ella Ramsey is a powerful attacker and major presence defensively along the front line, she is committed to Loyola-Chicago.   Sandburg Sectional - Lockport Township The Lockport Porters come into the postseason the undefeated champions of the Southwest Suburban Conference. They have not dropped a match since September 17 when they had a tough day losing to St. Francis and Montini Catholic. The Porters have the likes of Grace Juergens, [player_tooltip player_id="61654" first="Lindsay" last="Oldendorf"], and Aleksa Simkus. Andrew and Sandburg are on the other side of the bracket. These squads have plenty of common opponents and Lockport Township has a previous win over Andrew and a sweep over Sandburg two just over two weeks ago.   Oswego Sectional - Metea Valley Metea Valley has had a huge season going 33-2 and lots of high powered wins. There is no secret who the ball is going to for the Mustangs in one of the top 2023’s in Illinois and even one of the top recruits in the nation with Kira Hutson. Hutson is a Florida volleyball commit where she has averaged nearly six kills per set and is available in every rotation to score. Metea Valley also has one of the top liberos in Chicagoland in [player_tooltip player_id="61633" first="Morgan" last="Rank"] who is an Alabama commit. On the other side of the bracket are two big powers in Plainfield North and Benet Academy. A potential matchup between [player_tooltip player_id="61623" first="Ella" last="Wrobel"], a Wisconsin commit and Hutson of MV would be quite the power punch at the pins with these two teams. It’s no secret this [caption id="attachment_135674" align="alignright" width="422"]<img class="wp-image-135674" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/03/DSC06300.jpg" alt="" width="422" height="283" /> [player_tooltip player_id="138663" first="Campbell" last="Paris"][/caption] section is a mini state tournament in itself much like the Mother McAuley section Glenbrook South Sectional - Hersey Hersey comes in with a loaded record and plenty of wins, but is coming into the end of the season with a skid with losses to Lyons, Libertyville, Fremd, and Fenwick. Everything for Hersey will go through Central Michigan commit, [player_tooltip player_id="160505" first="Allie" last="Korba"]. The two seed, Barrington is going to be a tough squad to stop with two big pins in [player_tooltip player_id="138661" first="Jessica" last="Horwath"] and [player_tooltip player_id="138663" first="Campbell" last="Paris"]. Horwath is a dynamic six rotation outside hitter who is so steady and solid on defense and has a full bag of tricks when it comes to shots where Paris is a long, athletic power pin who has already committed to South Carolina.   Schaumburg Sectional - New Trier I was able to see New Trier play multiple times at the Asics Challenge at Mother McAuley. I really liked what I saw from setter [player_tooltip player_id="135957" first="Nicole" last="Cornell"] and the athleticism as a team. They have a steady first contact and have options to score. However the other side of the bracket is dangerous with Loyola Academy and Fremd. Fremd will rely heavily on outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="61694" first="Rylen" last="Reid"] who can put up plenty of points, she is a Florida Gulf Coast commit. Loyola Academy will be led by Mia McGrath who has committed to play at Clemson. Lot of power in this sectional where its up in the air for multiple teams to take the title.