Boys volleyball: 5 storylines to watch in The Herald-News area

The 2024 boys volleyball season has started, and there is no lack of top players, top teams and intriguing storylines to keep an eye on this spring.

Here are five storylines to watch in the Herald-News area this season.

A fight for Lincoln-Way supremacy

Boys volleyball has been a big sport in the Lincoln-Way district. In the past 10 years, Lincoln-Way East has advanced to the state quarterfinals five times, bringing home five trophies. These include state championships in 2014 and 2018, runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2022 and a fourth-place finish in 2021.

Last year, Lincoln-Way West broke the Griffins’ stranglehold and advanced to the sectional final, where they lost to eventual fourth-place finisher O’Fallon.

Will it be a return to glory for East, or will West break through and bring home a trophy?

Lincoln-Way West got off to a good start over the weekend by winning the Joliet West Invitational, topping Bolingbrook in the title match.

Lincoln-Way East, meanwhile, finished third at the Marist Invitational, beating Downers Grove North in the third-place match after losing to Lockport in the semifinals.

Other teams in the mix

Judging by the tournaments over the opening weekend, it’s not just the Lincoln-Way schools that will make some noise this season.

Bolingbrook announced itself with a second-place finish at the Joliet West Invitational, while Lockport took down Lincoln-Way East in the Marist Invitational semifinals before losing to the host school in the title match.

All in all, it should make for an interesting race in the SouthWest Suburban Conference all season.

Conference races

Besides the logjam at the top of the SouthWest Suburban with Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Lockport and Bolingbrook vying for the title, another heated conference race promises to come from the Southwest Prairie Conference.

Joliet West has a wealth of returning players, such as Thomas Fellows, Landon Brouwer and Nathan Fleischauer, while Plainfield East is coming off a conference championship and returns setter Thomas Tagtmeyer, who recorded his 1,00th career assist at the Joliet West Invitational. Joliet Central, meanwhile, returns all-conference outside hitter Joseis Dixon.

Top players

Connor Jaral returns for Lincoln-Way West after leading the Warriors to 30 wins last season. Jaral, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, finished last season with 291 kills. Jaral is not the only Lincoln-Way West player to watch, as 6-3 junior middle hitter Hunter Vedder amassed 126 kills to go with 99 service points and 99 digs.

Lockport returns Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association All-State third-team libero Kevin Rodriguez (282 digs, 68 assists, 28 aces), Herald-News All-Area outside hitter Wade Welke (230 kills, 167 digs, 30 aces), 6-8 All-State second-team hitter Joshua Bluhm (299 kills, 36 blocks and 34 aces), and All-State first-team setter Evan Dziadkowiec (776 assists, 32 aces, 188 digs, 70 kills).

At Joliet West, Thomas Fellows has committed to Penn, while Landon Brouwer is a Roberts Wesleyan commit. Plainfield East setter Thomas Tagtmeyer recently recorded his 1,000th career assist.

Which team will break out?

Given the recent success and returning players, it won’t be a surprise to see Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West or Lockport made a deep run in the postseason.

Which teams may turn into Cinderalla once the playoffs start?

Bolingbrook threw its hat into that ring by advancing to the Joliet West Invitational title match, while Joliet West and Plainfield East have been knocking on the door, as well. Joliet Catholic lost its 6-9 twin towers of Luke and Zach Pekol to graduation, but the Hilltoppers could fly under the radar. Ditto for Providence.