Senior Noah Beals is among many important returning Riverside Brookfield High School boys volleyball players who learned plenty from their 2025 varsity debuts.
“Last year, I don’t think I was ready to perform at that level, but I have grown a lot since then. I feel much more prepared for this season,” Beals said.
“I hope to improve my confidence on the court and I want to be a force at the net, intimidating the other team.”
The Bulldogs want to build upon their strong 23-14 finish last season. That included sharing the Upstate Eight Conference East Division title in their debut season with Glenbard East and West Chicago at 5-1 and winning 11 of their final 15 matches. They lost to state quarterfinalist Sandburg 25-19, 25-20 in the regional final.
The previous two seasons, the Bulldogs captured the program’s first conference titles as part of the Metro Suburban. They’ve also reached 20 victories two of the past three seasons.
Off to a 2-4 start, the team already has dealt with three injuries.
“This team is pretty scrappy and we hope to play great defense and extend rallies,” RBHS coach Dan Bonarigo said. “Keys to a successful season are staying healthy – or getting healthy – minimizing errors in late-game situations and outworking opponents.”
Middle/right-side hitter Beals and junior setter Gianfranco Crancich are returning starters.
Riverside-Brookfield’s Gianfranco Crancich (2) tries to get the ball past Lincoln-Way Central during pool play of the Marist Madness Redhawk Invitational Friday, March 27, 2026 in Palos Heights, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s John Bielobradek (1) passes the ball against Lincoln-Way Central during pool play of the Marist Madness Redhawk Invitational Friday, March 27, 2026 in Palos Heights, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Noah Beals (17) goes up for a block against Lincoln-Way Central during pool play of the Marist Madness Redhawk Invitational Friday, March 27, 2026 in Palos Heights, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Gavin Sharenow (15) sets the ball against Lincoln-Way Central during pool play of the Marist Madness Redhawk Invitational Friday, March 27, 2026 in Palos Heights, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark)
Senior John Bielobradek and junior Michael Austin (outside hitters) and seniors Aiden Schoeff (middle hitter), Quinn Shipley (right-side hitter) and Gavin Sharenow (libero) also are expected to play key roles. Other team members are seniors Jorian Lopez and Santiago Madellin, juniors Mateo Roman Garcia and Hunter Twitty and sophomores Aidan Darrah and Kyle Kummer.
“This year, I feel we are more interconnected,” said Shipley, another second-year varsity player who is an outside and right-side hitter.
“Last season prepared me to be flexible with schedules and overall positions. Last season prepared me to be flexible and able to adapt to what (position) the team required at the time.”
Last season, Crancich was second in assists (244) and third in service aces (27). Beals was fifth in blocks (32) and Bielobradek was fifth in digs (91). In kills, Beals (66) and Bielobradek (38) were sixth and seventh.
“I would say our team strengths are athletic ability and chemistry,” Bielobradek said. “The biggest thing is going to be effort. We have the talent. We just have to put it together.”
The Bulldogs opened with a three-set loss at Morton March 25. At the Marist Invitational Friday and Saturday, the Bulldogs beat Providence and Plainfield South in two sets and lost to Lincoln-Way Central and Downers Grove South in two sets and Lincoln-Way West in three.
LTHS boys volleyball
Another strong season for the Lyons Township boys volleyball team probably will take some time.
The Lions graduated many from last season’s 29-9 team but have five returning full or part-time staters – senior outside hitters Brody Lee-Caracci and Owen Carroll, libero Brady Schlichter and middle blockers Jack Hartman and Weston Aram.
Other team members are seniors Michael Becker, Nathan Crandall, Jake Garcia, Sebastian Myers and Roy Piagnarelli, juniors Logan Jones, Ilija Kisic, Darek Kwak, Jack Majernik, RJ Pora, Trevor Richard, Oliver Sordyl and Ethan Vlahos and sophomores Evan DeGraff and Tyson Sweigard.
LTHS has started 0-2 with losses at Brother Rice March 24 and Wheaton Warrenville South Thursday.
“We struggle in the moment sometimes (in matches). I’ve seen a lot of improvements since the beginning of the year,” Lee-Carocci said.
“We have a lot of club players on our team and everyone’s really experienced so I’m sure we’ll figure everything out.”
Last season, the Lions also were 2-4 in the highly competitive West Suburban Conference Silver Division. They again finished strong, winning nine straight before their hopes for a third straight trip to the state quarterfinals was stopped by a 25-19, 22-25, 26-24 loss to Oak Park and River Forest in the sectional semifinals.
Lee-Caracci was named second-team all-state by the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association and All-WSC Silver.
Lee-Caracci (Lewis) and Schlichter (Missouri S&T) will play college volleyball.
Setter Becker, Crandall, Sordyl, Vlahos and Piagnarelli are among those expected to make greater contributions.
LTHS coach Brad Skendzel expects the lineup to undergo many changes and tweaks, also a product of the team’s overall depth.
“We are a strong offensive team with size, which should all us to establish a consistent and dominant presence at the net,” Skendzel said.
“Consistency across all facets of the game will be the key to our success. We must remain committed to the details and execute them at a high level to achieve our goals.”
Lee-Caracci improved to 341 kills in 2025 from being third on the team with 184 in his 2024 varsity debut season. Lee-Caracci and Carroll are the lone returnees who played in the 2024 state quarterfinals.
Carroll (169 kills) and Hartman (60 total blocks) also were among 2025 stat leaders. Carroll currently is sidelined by a thumb injury from basketball but is expected back this month.
Offensively, the Lions already have shown an ability to get multiple contributions from the outside and middle. Defensively, Schlichter shared the libero role last year.
“Since we’re mainly senior-based, we know each other well. We complement each other well,” Schlichter said.
“We started off the season with our strength being more on offense so we’ve wanted to focus more on defense. Offense and defense are now at the same level and now they just have to get even better.”