July 18, 2025
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Volleyball: Five storylines to watch for the 2023 season

St. Bede plays in new conference; Saige Barnett has homecoming at BV; Tigresses mark 50th year

By Kevin Hieronymus

St. Bede volleyball coach Abbi Bosnich communicates to her team on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022 at the Academy in Peru. (Scott Anderson - sanderson@shawmedia.com)

Here are some storylines to watch for the upcoming volleyball season. First practices start up Monday:

Welcome home Saige: Saige Barnett, a 2019 alum, and one of the best athletes to wear the Storm colors, has returned home as the new head volleyball coach for Bureau Valley. Barnett, who is right out of Illinois State, will teach high school PE.

When hired this summer, Barnett said she was “really excited and looking forward to it.”

Barnett succeeds the coach she played for, Caitlyn DeMay, who resigned after seven seasons. DeMay led the Storm to a regional championship in 2018 and a 24-13 record in 2019.

The Storm went 15-20 last season.

Storm sophomore Saige Barnett stays focused on the ball Tuesday at the Storm Cellar. (BCR photo)

New conference home: The St. Bede volleyballers will have a new, but familiar home. St. Bede has left the Three Rivers Conference after 10 years to return to the Tri-County Conference. The Bruins last played in the Tri-County in 2009-10, a 16-year run starting in 1994-95.

Fourth-year St. Bede coach Abbi Bosnich, a 2002 Academy alum, who formerly was head coach at Bureau Valley, also a member of the Three Rivers, said it will be a “learning experience being in a different conference as I’ve been coach in the same conference for such a long time.”

When they announced the move, St. Bede officials said the Tri-County was a “good fit” for the Bruins.

St. Bede football has joined the new Chicago Prairie Football League.

50 years of Tigresses volleyball: Princeton High School will be celebrating its 50th anniversary of its first season this fall. The Tigresses first played in 1973 after the passing of Title IX the year before under the direction of Julie Nagle, finishing with a 4-3 record.

Rita Placek took over as head coach the next season, embarking on an outstanding 25-year run, capped by a state championship in 1990 and state appearances in 1980 and 1994.

She was followed as coach by Julie Sherbeyn (two years) and Courtney Sapp (one year) with current Andy Puck taking over in as head coach in 2002, coming over from Hall.

The Tigresses have won 11 regionals, nine sectionals and four districts with four state tournament appearances (first in 1990, fourth in 2008).

Puck plans to celebrate the milestone season in the program’s rich history this fall.

Hall played its first varsity season in 1975 after completion of its then new gym and a couple of seasons at the underclass level. St. Bede followed in 1976.

Princeton High School fielded its first volleyball team (shown here in the PHS yearbook) in 1973 following the passing of IX in 1972. Julie Neagle coached the first year, giving way to Rita Placek, who had a highly successful 25-year run, including the 1990 state championship.

Princeton High School fielded its first volleyball team (shown here in the PHS yearbook) in 1973 following the passing of IX in 1972. Julie Neagle coached the first year, giving way to Rita Placek, who had a highly successful 25-year run, including the 1990 state championship.

Looking for a winner: Will there be a winning team in Bureau County this season? Not one of the five of the Bureau County volleyball teams last season had a winning season and not one was close.

Together Bureau Valley (15-20), St. Bede (14-23), Princeton (12-19), Hall (7-24) and LaMoille (3-26) had a combined 51-112 record, just a .333 winning percentage.

The losing second was just the second in years for PHS coach Andy Puck in 21 years, the first since going 13-22 in 2014.

Missing players: Some players will not be coming out for their senior season at a couple of area schools, which will create a void to fill, but one that new players are eager to step right in to answer the call.

Another player, Keely Lawson, transferred from Bureau Valley to rival Princeton in January, but will miss her sophomore season sitting out due to transfer rules. She’ll be eligible to play sports at PHS January, 2024.