If you’re an Illinois kid planning to play volleyball after high school, there are plenty of schools to choose from, but if you want to stay in or near Illinois, here’s a list of schools to choose from.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Loyola is a great school with a very good and promising program. They have some of the best trainers around. I’ve seen them turn players into stars that I never thought should have been playing in college in the first place. This season they have completely turned the show around, are ranked in the top ten and have a great recruiting class. Also, if you choose to go to a different school and it doesn’t work out, Loyola accepts a lot of transfer students on their team.
LEWIS UNIVERSITY
This is probably the best volleyball program within Illinois. Dan Friend is an excellent trainer; His teams typically finish in the top ten each year. He helps everyone on the team improve their volleyball skills, even those who don’t start. Friend likes to involve a lot of his players in the game, even when the games are close or if they are playing against a very good team. He brings players into the game sometimes just to serve or to hit up the front line when the starters are struggling. For being a small private school, Lewis seems to be a very popular school with high school recruits. Everyone I’ve talked to loved the Lewis and really enjoyed playing volleyball there. Plus, they always play some of the best teams in the country, whether it’s bringing teams to Lewis for games or heading out on a West Coast road trip. That is why Lewis University has a great volleyball program.
COLLEGE OF CARTHAGE
Cartago is one of the best Division III programs in the country. For being an NCAA volleyball program for a couple of years, they have built a great program. Almost every year that the team has existed, they have made it to the final four D-3. Being a good Division III they compete very well with Division II and Division I schools and at some point even beating these schools in some matches. However, their recruiting class seems to be weaker compared to previous years, but they are still good recruiting classes. Carthage will always be a good team in the Midwest that can challenge their opponents even if they are in a higher division.
MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
MSOE is a great school if you are looking for a good education. They’re not known for their athleticism, but they’re still a decent team. They’ll never make the playoffs or anything, but they can still be competitive. If you are looking for a great education and still play competitive volleyball, this would be the school for you.
S T. Ambrose
St. Ambrose is a very good team. They play for the NAIA, which is not affiliated with the NCAA. The best part of this team is that there is a varsity team and a junior varsity team. The varsity team plays against NCAA teams like Lewis or Carthage. They were like the junior varsity games in varsity club tournaments. It’s a great team with most of the team coming from the south side of Chicago. They are a good team that is very competitive and usually makes it to the NAIA tournament at the end of each season. With two teams, everyone has the opportunity to play longer compared to going to a school with only one team. That’s why St. Ambrose is a great school to play when you’re in college.
IPFW
IPFW is a good team that is usually one of the most dominant teams in the Midwest. A few years ago they could have competed with any of the schools, even the ones on the West Coast. They were usually the team that made it to the final four in the Midwest. To this day they are still a dominant team, but just as good as they were before. However, I believe that in the next few years they will once again be the dominant team in the Midwest. It’s just going to take some time for the IPFW to get the recruits it needs. As of now, they have a great coach who is trying to help get their young team on the right track to become a great team.
S T. XAVIER
St. Xavier is a new volleyball program. This is their first year for being a new team, they are not that bad. They have a couple of wins. As a freshman team, it’s a bit difficult to get the best recruits. The program can only upload from here. In a few years the team will have better players and will be more competitive. This would be a great school for recruits because you have a great opportunity to start and they have a very good coaching staff that can help their players become very good players.
Here are some of the schools in Illinois and around Illinois that kids can go to play if they want to play after high school. However, if you are looking to play in college and don’t want the hassle of practicing every day and traveling constantly, you can always play club volleyball. Club volleyball is more fun and not as hectic. If you play for a club, you will typically practice twice a week and play in a tournament almost every weekend. The best schools for playing clubs in Illinois are the University of Illinois or Illinois State University. They always have great players, some who should be playing for a Division I school. Almost every school has a club team like East, North, and West Illinois. Playing in the club is a lot of fun because there are no coaches and they are only led by older players. Here are some schools you should consider playing for if you want to play volleyball after high school.
http://quickattckvolleyball.webs.com/