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With the conference portion of the girls volleyball season beginning, there are several area teams that appear to be contenders for conference championships.
However, many of those contenders play in the same conference, the Southwest Suburban.
The Blue Division of the SWSC is loaded, featuring Lincoln-Way East (8-1), Bolingbrook (15-3) and Lockport (12-3). Lockport went undefeated in the conference last season and won the title and a regional championship. Bolingbrook was second in the conference and also won its first-ever regional title, then beat Lockport in the sectional semifinal. Lincoln-Way East recently won the Plainfield North Crimson Classic championship, and the Griffins’ only loss this season has been to the state’s top-ranked team, Lyons Township.
In the Red Division, Lincoln-Way Central is off to an 8-2 start, while Lincoln-Way West is 4-5.
The Southwest Suburban isn’t the only conference in the area that promises to have a tight race. If early-season returns are any indication, the Southwest Prairie will also be a fight to the finish.
Currently, Plainfield South is 14-2 overall, while Plainfield North is 12-3. Joliet West is 6-5, but has played a rigorous schedule and took Bolingbrook to three sets in the season opener. Although its record is 3-7, Minooka also has played a tough schedule and can never be counted out in the conference race.
With the teams in such close geographical proximity, many of them should be placed in the same regionals and/or sectionals when the postseason pairings are announced, adding another layer to the battle for area supremacy.
On a roll
The aforementioned teams aren’t the only ones that have started the season well. Morris has won five straight matches and holds a 10-3 record, including 2-0 in the Interstate Eight Conference, while Coal City is 10-5-1 overall and 4-0 in Illinois Central Eight Conference matches.
Lemont is off to a 10-4 start, while Joliet Catholic Academy – last season’s fourth-place team in Class 3A – holds a 10-5 record. Seneca is 8-4, while Reed-Custer (6-4), Wilmington (6-5), Peotone (6-4), and Providence Catholic (5-5) all are .500 or better.
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Chasing history
One of the main goals for Bolingbrook this season is to break the school record for wins in a season, which stands at 25. The Raiders won their first regional title last season and have a number of those players back.
With a 15-3 record, that school mark looks like it could fall.
Included in the Raiders’ 15 wins is a 28-26, 25-23 win over top-ranked Lyons Township last week. It was part of a 3-0 showing at the Lyons Quadrangular, which also saw the Raiders defeat Sandburg and Normal Community. According to prepdig.com, senior outside hitter Madison Shroba, a Lewis University commit, leads the state with 164 kills, averaging 4.7 kills per set. Teammate Cydney Anderson, also a senior, ranks 10th in the state with 108 kills, an average of 3.1 per set.
The Raiders also have had a lock on the Herald-News Athlete of the Week award, as Shroba and junior setter Sarah Harvey each won the voting for the first two weeks.