Boys volleyball: St. Charles North, Elgin looking forward to future
The St. Charles North and Elgin boys volleyball teams shook hands and went their separate ways Thursday following North's 25-8, 25-13 Upstate Eight road win.
Their respective athletic programs part ways next month.
The Upstate Eight Conference as constituted since 2010 with 14 schools in two divisions is approaching sunset.
A new era dawns in the 2018-19 school year when St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Geneva and Batavia form the new DuKane Conference along with exiting DuPage Valley Conference members Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton North, Glenbard North and Lake Park.
The revised Upstate Eight will have 10 schools, retaining Larkin, Elgin, Streamwood, South Elgin, Bartlett, Glenbard East, West Chicago, West Aurora and East Aurora and adding Glenbard South, which exits the Metro Suburban Conference.
The changes mean Thursday's meeting between the North Stars and Maroons was "possibly the last time we'll see Elgin for a long time," St. Charles North coach Todd Weimer said.
From a boys volleyball standpoint, realignment should benefit both programs if not all involved.
DuKane Conference boys volleyball will be highly competitive. St. Charles North (17-9, 7-0) leads the UEC and can clinch no worse than a title share with a win against West Aurora in St. Charles on Tuesday. Geneva is tied for second with Bartlett, two games back in the loss column.
Joining the DKC affords the North Stars the opportunity to play fully developed programs with lower-level teams rather than play a one-sided UEC match against a District U-46 team like Elgin, where the program is in the process of finding an identity. Wheaton Warrenville South won seven boys volleyball state titles between 2004 and 2012. DVC leader Lake Park (25-4), ranked fourth in the Daily Herald Top 10, defeated St. Charles North in a 2017 sectional final and finished third at state. Wheaton North is 16-5.
"In this new league you won't be able to cut corners or slack, not that we ever do against the U-46 teams," Weimer said. "We run a tight ship and hold ourselves to a high standard, especially with academics. We try to make it uncomfortable in practice so they are ready for almost any situation in a game. It will be hard to win a championship in any sport in the new league. Teams will definitely earn it."
Elgin, like Streamwood, Larkin and South Elgin, has a young boys volleyball team likely a year or two away from being able to compete with the more-seasoned Tri-Cities programs. Next year, the Maroons will compete in an eight-team UEC (Glenbard South and East Aurora do not have boys volleyball teams).
Elgin coach Andrew LeGoff thinks Elgin can contend in the new UEC in time.
"A lot of these guys haven't played club, but they are going to start this year," said the first-year coach. "In a couple of years, I think we'd be able to compete with teams like St. Charles North. It will be interesting. All the U-46 teams are really young and getting better. I think it will be a competitive league."