Girls volleyball: Here is the 2023 Suburban Life All-Area team

Here is the 2023 Suburban Life All-Area Girls Volleyball team.

FIRST TEAM

Ava Falduto, IC Catholic Prep, senior, outside hitter: Penn State recruit as a libero led IC Catholic Prep to its second straight Class 2A state runner-up finish. Falduto surpassed 1,000 career kills, approached 1,000 career digs and this season had 370 kills at a .333 attacking efficiency, 342 digs and 46 aces. Falduto is on the AVCA All American Watch List, Under Armour Next All-American selection and was a 2023 USA National Team Player for U19 (world champions) and U21 (fourth place). Named Best Receiver in U19 Pan American Cup, Illinois Top Libero by Prep Dig and was all-tournament at the Wheaton Classic, Quincy Sr. Invite and Quincy Notre Dame Invite. “Ava’s impact on the ICCP volleyball program for the last four years has been immeasurable,” ICCP coach Nancy Kerrigan said. “She is truly a one-of-a-kind talent.”

Addy Horner, St. Francis, junior, setter/right side hitter: Wisconsin recruit led St. Francis to second consecutive Class 3A state championship. Named IVCA All-State first team, MVP of the Blocktober Fest tournament, all-tournament at the Crossroads Classic and All-Conference in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference. Horner finished the season with 50 aces, 267 kills, 52 blocks, 258 assists and 191 digs.

Marin Johnson, Glenbard West, senior, outside hitter: Southeast Missouri State commit led Hilltoppers to 35-4 record, highest win total in more than a decade. Johnson led the Hilltoppers in kills for four straight seasons, amassing 888 career kills (345 in 2023). She also had 45 blocks, 258 digs, 29 aces and played six rotations. She received all-tournament at the Wheaton North Invite, Effingham Crossroads Tournament and Glenbard West Invite.

Calli Kenny, Willowbrook, senior, setter/right side hitter: Marquette recruit led Willowbrook to third place in the state in Class 4A and holds the school record for kills in a single season (321), aces in a single season (104), kills in a career (1,003) and aces in a career (262). This season Kenny amassed 318 kills, 104 aces, 27 blocks, 399 assists and 234 digs. Kenny passed 74 balls in serve receive and was aced only once. Kenny reached the 1,000-career kill milestone in her final match of the season. Kenny led Willowbrook to four conference championships, three regional titles, two sectional titles and a state appearance – all firsts in program history. Career record of 123-9.

Lynney Tarnow, Benet, sophomore, middle hitter: Benet coach Brad Baker called the 6-foot-5 sophomore “one of the most dominant middle attackers we have seen in the state.” IVCA First Team All-State for Class 4A state runner-up and all-tournament at St. Charles East’s Scholastic Cup and Glenbard East’s Autumnfest. Tarnow had team-high 286 kills and 53 blocks.

Abby VanderWal, Timothy Christian, junior, outside hitter: Texas recruit was the conference MVP this season for 28-7 Knights with an astronomical hitting percentage of 0.527, tops in he state, with 60% of her swings going down as kills. VanderWal missed the season’s first 12 matches because of commitments with Team USA at both the U19 and U21 World Championships. She returned to put down 218 kills with 125 digs and 43 aces. “She is as close to an unstoppable force as there might be,” Timothy Christian coach Scott Piersma said.

Aniya Warren, Benet, junior, libero: Indiana recruit led Benet to second place in state in Class 4A for the second consecutive season, was First Team All-State IVCA and MVP at Wheaton Classic, St. Charles East’s Scholastic Cup and Glenbard East’s Autumnfest. One of two Benet players to play six rotations, Warren had team-best 447 digs and led Benet in serve receive. Warren also had 91 assists and 21 aces.

SECOND TEAM

Audrey Asleson, Benet, junior, outside hitter

Olivia Austin, Nazareth, senior, middle blocker

Rebecca Bellows, Wheaton Warrenville South, senior, setter

KK Dumpit, St. Francis, senior, setter

Cara Herbert, Glenbard West, freshman, setter

Hannah Kenny, Willowbrook, junior, setter/right side hitter

Abby Markworth, Lyons Township, senior, setter

Honorable Mention

Alexandra Barcenas, Downers Grove South, junior, setter; Lauren Coyne, Wheaton Warrenville South, junior, opposite; Kelley Crowley, Downers Grove North, sophomore, outside hitter; Alysa Lawton, IC Catholic Prep, senior, libero; Kiley Mahoney, Lyons, senior, libero; Brooklynn Moore, Glenbard South, junior, middle blocker; Keira O’Donnell, Lemont, junior, outside hitter; Lucy Russ, IC Catholic Prep, senior, setter; Lauren Salata, Nazareth, senior, outside hitter; Sophia Sommesi, Glenbard East, senior, outside hitter; Gabby Stasys, Benet, junior, middle hitter; Jessie Trapp, York, senior, outside hitter; Penelope Vilkama, Glenbard West, senior, libero; Olivia Zamis, Wheaton North, junior, middle blocker.