By Colin Mieczkowski
It has become one of the great traditions in Illinois high school sports and on SportsTownChicago.com. The seventh annual Illinois H.S. Girls Volleyball All-Star Game which took place at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn,IL featured the State’s very best.
It started off with the All-Star Showcase, which gives colleges a chance to scout the best ball spikers in the State before the main event. The showcase between team Pink and team White was a duel that gave us a taste of what’s to come.
Beautiful passes and attacks were some of the great highlights on display. There were plenty of solid dig efforts as well, with team White barely saving a ball before landing on their side of the court.
The showcase was won by team Pink 15-7 and then the All-Star Game was about to begin. With many colleges in the stands, the pressure was on for girls on both teams during the Showcase.
Some of the schools that were watching either online or in person included Olivet Nazerene, Marquette University, Elmhurst College and McHenry Community College. Although some of the girls have committed to colleges already, it gives the players who haven’t committed a chance to shine on a big stage.
Like the Showcase, the All-Star game was a dandy. The game was filled with plenty of aggressive play, and many highlight reel moments.
One of those moments in particular was from the White team, where multiple saved shots led to a spike to other side of the net, giving them a point. The ball just does stay in, and the girls showed why they were in this game.
The Pink team was led by coach Lisa Tazelaar and captain Emily Drenth of Hinsdale South High School. Drenth has been an all-around star for Hinsdale South, collecting 212 kills while getting an impressive 132 digs to her credit this season. She also has 32 aces on the season.
The White team was led by coach Carrie Prosek and captain Brooklyn Bachmann of Minooka High School. Bachmann has been the ultimate team player, setting up her teammates for great scoring opportunities and she didn’t disappoint in this game.
With both teams grinding hard, even the players who were already committed, still wanted to prove something at the College of DuPage, underneath the Chaparrals logo. And when both teams dueled like warriors in both the Showcase and the All-Star game, there’s no doubt these girls will shine brightly in college.