It was 25 years ago, Nov. 10, 1990, that Princeton ruled the Class 1A state volleyball ranks.

Rita Placek’s state-champion Tigresses had an elite squad built around all-stater Nicole Coates and classmates Tina Forth, Karen Flaherty, Rachael Longman and Kerry Sluis, and junior Shannon Sapp, who was relatively still a new kid in town.

Coach Rita Placek told the BCR in 1990 that, “If people in Princeton or the area have never seen volleyball, this is the team to watch. They’ll be more entertaining than anything on TV.”

They sure were.

The Tigresses beat Hall for the regional championship at Wenona (15-6, 15-3), Tiskilwa for the sectional title at Bradford (15-6, 15-10) and Coal City in the super-sectional at Wenona (15-7, 15-8).

At state, PHS downed Breese Mater Dei (15-9, 8-15, 15-4), Colchester (15-9, 15-3) and then Huntley (15-12,16-14) for the state crown.

Does it really seem like it’s been 25 years ago?

“Years go by really fast. The memories that are coming up, yeah, they all seem like it just happened, but we all know through our age, it wasn’t,” Placek said.

“It seems unreal that 25 years has passed,” (Flaherty) Corey said.

Favorite memories shared by many on the team include:

The bus rides and being part of a great team.

Max Lauritzen, the bus driver.

Matching hair ties.

The bun huggers.

Lost keys.

And of course winning state.

What made that team so special? Placek said she doesn’t know where to begin.

So many things made them special,” she said. “They were all very talented, they were all very smart, they were all very team oriented. Just great girls to work with. They really worked hard and that’s the most special thing, I think.”

Here’s a special edition of the BCR Where are they Now featuring the girls and coaches from the 1990 state champions:

Nicole (Coates) Schaefbauer: The senior all-stater went on to play volleyball for the University of Notre Dame.  She works for the Illinois Elementary School Association in Bloomington. She and her husband, Skipp, a former ISU basketball player, have two daughters, Isabel (13) and McKenna (11).

Sacha (Esme) Valle: A junior in 1990, Esme played volleyball at IVCC then attended Design School in Chicago. She lives in LaSalle with her husband, Mike, her 15-year-old daughter, Sophia, and her  9-year-old stepson, Gino.

Tina (Forth) Heller: The senior setter was the floor leader for the Tigresses. She played volleyball along with basketball and softball at Monmouth College. She lives in Wyanet with her husband, Scott, and daughter, Makayla, 12. She is a special ed teacher at Logan Junior High in Princeton.

Tonya Gewin: Was a junior reserve in 1990. Stay at home mom of two, Alex, 2, Alyssa, 5, living Cortland, near DeKalb.

Ann (Gillespie) Gower: Was a junior reserve in 1990. Lives in Nashville.

Michelle Goodwin: Was a sophomore brought up for the state tournament. Lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, with what she describes as two active teenage girls. She is lead quality analyst at American Enterprise Insurance in Des Moines and has been employed there for 15 years now.

Karen (Flaherty) Corey: A senior middle blocker for the state champs, she went on to play for the US Naval Academy (senior MVP) and later coached the US Navy's team as well as at Bowdoin College. She spent time on a destroyer out of Pearl Harbor and in the Persian Gulf. She now lives in Bonn, Germany, with her husband, Matt, a pilot with FedEx, and their three girls (14, 12, 10). She said she is thankful for taking four years of German with Herr Laesch.

Rachel (Longman) Thomson: Was a senior starting outside hitter for the Tigresses and went on to play four years at Culver Stockton University on scholarship. She married PHS grad Mike Thomson ('89) and they live in Springfield with their three children - Ellie (15), Matthew (13) and Will (6). She has spearheaded the design, development and fundraising effort to bring a 25,000 sq. ft. children's museum called Kidzeum of Health and Science with a health, science and wellness focus to Springfield.

Kimberly (Norrell) Vincent: Was a sophomore brought up for the state tournament. Lives in Chicago.

Shannon (Sapp) Killion: Moving to Princeton four days before her freshman year starter, Shannon found a new home with the Tigresses. She taught biology and coached volleyball for three years. She lives in Morton with her husband, Jason Killion, and their two children, Kyle (15) and Kyra (13), who are very active in sports.

Jennifer (Segerstrom) Blake: A sophomore call-up for state. She is a PT specializes in geriatic and pediatric rehabilitation. Lives in Jefferson City, Mo. with her husband Scott, and two children.

Kerry (Sluis) Bryson: Was a senior starter on the state squad. Lives in Ottawa with her husband, Pat (PHS '86), and daughter Peyton, 10, and son Colt, 7, both active in sports. She is an Assistant Appellate Defender representing indigent criminal defendants in the Illinois Appellate and Supreme courts.

Marnie Swanson: Was a junior reserve on the team. Lives in Princeton, attends New Hope of the Nazarene Church, is manager for Wendy's and is a part-time nanny. Recently returned from a mission trip to Romania.

Stephanie (Windt) Batiste: Was a junior on the state squad. Lives in DeKalb with husband, Brent, and four children. They are directors of the NIU's Athletes in Action, the sports outreach division for Campus Crusade for Christ, serving for 20 years.

Marla (Wood) Sachs: Was a junior in 1990. She works for FDC Mortgage as a Strategic Alliance Marketing Director and lives in Orlando, Fla., with her husband, Jeffrey, and son, Michael, and daughter, Harper.

And the coaches

Rita Placek: Retired after the 1998 season after 25 years as head coach, compiling a 493-176-12 record with five NCIC championships, 16 regionals, nine sectional and three straight finals appearances.

Kaye Pearson: Retired in 2013 after teaching/career at Logan Junior High.

Eric Tinley: Just finished his 27th season with the PHS program as the sophomore coach.

• A footnote tying two teammates together after all these years. Shannon Sapp and Nicole Coates will be reunited when their daughters meet on the court in January. Kyra Killion plays for Morton and Isabelle Schaefbauer for Normal Parkside. When they met last year, it was the first time their mothers had seen each other in 23 years, Shannon Sapp Killion said.

Kevin Hieronymus is the BCR Sports Editor. He covered the Tigresses at state in 1990. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com.