Rankings

Top 25 Girls Club Volleyball Programs in Illinois for the 2025-2026 Season

Top 25 Girls Club Volleyball Programs in Illinois

Illinois is the #5-ranked girls club volleyball state in the country for the 2025-2026 season, with a VolleyLens state score of 77.32 across 107 ranked clubs and 1,892 teams — the second non-Sun Belt state in the top five (with Ohio at #4), and the only top-five state split across two USAV junior regions. Below are the top 25 girls club programs in Illinois for this season, ranked by VolleyLens club score, with the data straight from our nightly Elo recompute. The headline: 1st Alliance (Woodridge) is the #4 club in the country — the only non-warm-weather club inside the national top 10.

This is not an opinion poll. Every number here is computed from real match results: each club’s score rolls up from its constituent teams’ Elo ratings, weighted by how many of those teams compete at the elite level (1700+ Elo). We grade our own forecasts publicly on the VolleyLens accuracy page, and the full methodology guide walks through every component. If you disagree with where a club lands, you are disagreeing with the matches it played — not with our editors.

Snapshot as of June 19, 2026. Live rankings update nightly — the canonical, always-current list lives on the Illinois girls volleyball rankings page.

How we computed this list

Each club’s score is a weighted blend of (a) the average Elo rating of its teams and (b) the count of teams competing above the 1700-Elo elite threshold. Elo updates after every match using a K-factor of 32, with margin-of-victory adjustment and a strength-of-schedule multiplier — and it counts every match an Illinois club played against any opponent in the country, not just in-state or in-region opposition. Win-rate percentages in this list are the club’s overall record across all opponents, nationwide. Data window: matches from September 2025 through 2026-06-18 22:00 UTC. Clubs need at least three rostered teams with completed match data to qualify for the state rankings. The full methodology explains every component, and we publicly grade our own forecast accuracy on the accuracy page.

The Top 25

  1. 1st Alliance (AKA 1st Alliance Volleyball Club), #1 in Illinois (national rank #4) — Club score 2,113. 36 teams, 30 elite (83% density). 72.7% win rate. Based in Woodridge (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: 1st Alliance 16-Gold at 2,293 Elo (national #9 in 16s, 41-14).

  2. Adversity (AKA Adversity VBC), #2 in Illinois (national rank #64) — Club score 1,956. 15 teams, 6 elite (40% density). 49.7% win rate. Based in Wood Dale (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Adversity 16-Adidas at 2,219 Elo (national #25 in 16s, 41-19).

  3. Sky High Adidas (AKA Sky High Volleyball), #3 in Illinois (national rank #74) — Club score 1,931. 45 teams, 19 elite (42% density). 53.2% win rate. Based in Crystal Lake (Chicago / North Suburbs). Flagship squad: Sky High Adidas 16 Elite at 2,178 Elo (national #42 in 16s, 47-16).

  4. SPVB (AKA Sports Performance Volleyball Club), #4 in Illinois (national rank #90) — Club score 1,912. 34 teams, 15 elite (44% density). 51.7% win rate. Based in Aurora (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: SPVB 17-Elite at 2,163 Elo (national #40 in 17s, 9-3).

  5. MichioChicago (AKA Michio Chicago), #5 in Illinois (national rank #121) — Club score 1,895. 8 teams, 6 elite (75% density). 53.0% win rate. Based in Evergreen Park (Chicago / South Suburbs). Flagship squad: MichioChicago 17-Bluesmoke at 2,008 Elo (national #128 in 17s, 24-25).

  6. Ultimate (AKA Ultimate Volleyball Club), #6 in Illinois (national rank #167) — Club score 1,869. 33 teams, 10 elite (30% density). 57.2% win rate. City field not in our source data. Flagship squad: Ultimate G15 Gold at 2,009 Elo (national #142 in 15s, 33-15).

  7. Mindset Premier (AKA Mindset Premier Volleyball), #7 in Illinois (national rank #172) — Club score 1,867. 17 teams, 8 elite (47% density). 73.2% win rate. Based in Niles (Chicago / North Suburbs). Flagship squad: Mindset Premier 14-Red at 1,935 Elo (national #196 in 14s, 42-7).

  8. MOD Elite (AKA MOD Volleyball / Northbrook), #8 in Illinois (national rank #193) — Club score 1,860. 18 teams, 6 elite (33% density). 53.5% win rate. Based in Northbrook (Chicago / North Suburbs). Flagship squad: MOD Elite 15-Blue at 2,026 Elo (national #129 in 15s, 30-16).

  9. BSVBC (AKA Belleville Saint Volleyball Club), #9 in Illinois (national rank #216) — Club score 1,854. 45 teams, 9 elite (20% density). 52.8% win rate. Based in O'Fallon (Downstate / Gateway). Flagship squad: BSVBC 16-Black at 2,203 Elo (national #29 in 16s, 44-11).

  10. Illini Elite (AKA Illini Elite Volleyball), #10 in Illinois (national rank #231) — Club score 1,848. 67 teams, 13 elite (19% density). 51.0% win rate. Based in Bloomington (Central Illinois). Flagship squad: Illini Elite 17 Cardinal at 2,102 Elo (national #61 in 17s, 23-14).

  11. Top Notch Volleyball Club (AKA Top Notch VBC), #11 in Illinois (national rank #252) — Club score 1,840. 13 teams, 6 elite (46% density). 58.6% win rate. Based in Springfield (Downstate / Gateway). Flagship squad: Top Notch 17-Elite at 1,908 Elo (national #242 in 17s, 26-22).

  12. Lions (AKA Lions Volleyball Club), #12 in Illinois (national rank #285) — Club score 1,828. 27 teams, 7 elite (26% density). 59.1% win rate. Based in Woodridge (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Lions 14-Red at 1,887 Elo (national #276 in 14s, 24-24).

  13. Club Fusion (AKA Club Fusion Volleyball), #13 in Illinois (national rank #325) — Club score 1,817. 128 teams, 17 elite (13% density). 52.5% win rate. Based in Batavia (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Club Fusion 14-1 national at 2,038 Elo (national #92 in 14s, 38-7).

  14. Club Four (AKA Club Four Volleyball), #14 in Illinois (national rank #366) — Club score 1,804. 20 teams, 5 elite (25% density). 58.0% win rate. Based in Quincy (Downstate / Gateway). Flagship squad: Club Four 17-Boost at 1,840 Elo (national #355 in 17s, 37-4).

  15. Top Flight Volleyball Academy (AKA Top Flight Academy / Elgin), #15 in Illinois (national rank #388) — Club score 1,798. 16 teams, 3 elite (19% density). 46.4% win rate. Based in Elgin (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Top Flight Volleyball Academy 16-National black at 1,937 Elo (national #257 in 16s, 28-13).

  16. Impulse (AKA Impulse Volleyball Club), #16 in Illinois (national rank #435) — Club score 1,789. 13 teams, 3 elite (23% density). 65.4% win rate. Based in Manteno (Chicago / South Suburbs). Flagship squad: Impulse 12-Red at 1,849 Elo (national #147 in 12s, 19-0).

  17. VC United (AKA VC United / Rockford), #17 in Illinois (national rank #446) — Club score 1,786. 60 teams, 4 elite (7% density). 49.1% win rate. Based in Loves Park (Rockford). Flagship squad: United 12-Evren at 2,034 Elo (national #25 in 12s, 8-0).

  18. Netforce (AKA Netforce Volleyball Academy), #18 in Illinois (national rank #505) — Club score 1,779. 15 teams, 3 elite (20% density). 57.0% win rate. Based in Waukegan (Chicago / North Suburbs). Flagship squad: Netforce 17-Saige at 1,875 Elo (national #298 in 17s, 34-7).

  19. MVP 60450 (AKA MVP 60450), #19 in Illinois (national rank #642) — Club score 1,753. 19 teams, 2 elite (11% density). 60.8% win rate. Based in Morris (Chicago / South Suburbs). Flagship squad: MVP 60450 16U Black at 1,876 Elo (national #377 in 16s, 31-4).

  20. Balance (AKA Balance Volleyball Club), #20 in Illinois (national rank #670) — Club score 1,749. 16 teams, 2 elite (13% density). 47.6% win rate. Based in Cary (Chicago / North Suburbs). Flagship squad: Balance 15-White at 1,856 Elo (national #379 in 15s, 37-25).

  21. Top Flight (AKA Top Flight Volleyball Club / Elgin), #21 in Illinois (national rank #677) — Club score 1,748. 101 teams, 7 elite (7% density). 45.0% win rate. Based in Elgin (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Top Flight 15-Elite at 2,033 Elo (national #121 in 15s, 32-18).

  22. Attack Volleyball (418) (AKA Attack Volleyball Club), #22 in Illinois (national rank #684) — Club score 1,747. 15 teams, 1 elite (7% density). 41.1% win rate. Based in Homer Glen (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: Attack VBC 16 Select at 2,033 Elo (national #130 in 16s, 37-21).

  23. diggersz, #23 in Illinois (national rank #686) — Club score 1,747. 11 teams, 1 elite (9% density). 57.4% win rate. Based in Princeton (Central Illinois). Flagship squad: Diggersz 12-Black-liz at 1,729 Elo (national #410 in 12s, 21-2).

  24. Eich's Volleyball Club (AKA EVC / Eich's Sports Complex), #24 in Illinois (national rank #717) — Club score 1,743. 19 teams, 4 elite (21% density). 52.3% win rate. Based in Plainfield (Chicago / West Suburbs). Flagship squad: EVC 13-National at 1,779 Elo (national #357 in 13s, 46-10).

  25. SI Wave (AKA Southern Illinois Wave), #25 in Illinois (national rank #750) — Club score 1,738. 17 teams, 3 elite (18% density). 60.3% win rate. Based in Pinckneyville (Downstate / Gateway). Flagship squad: SI Wave 16-Black at 1,757 Elo (national #780 in 16s, 31-5).

1st Alliance is the #4 club in the country

The headline of the Illinois top 25 is not subtle: 1st Alliance is the #4-ranked girls volleyball club in the country for the 2025-2026 season, with a VolleyLens club score of 2,113. That is not "#4 in Illinois" — that is #4 nationally, ahead of every club in Florida, every club in California, every club in Texas except the three at the very top of the leaderboard. There is no other club outside the warm-weather states in the national top 10. 1st Alliance is the structural exception.

Based in Woodridge (DuPage County, southwest Chicago suburbs), 1st Alliance runs 36 teams, 30 of which sit above the 1700-Elo elite threshold — 83% elite density. That density figure is the second-highest of any club we have covered in any state in the series (Elevation 3120 in Ohio leads the four-state set at 91%). The flagship squad, 1st Alliance 16-Gold, sits at 2,293 Elo and #9 nationally in the 16s, with a 41-14 season record. This is a top-tier program operating at a scale that, until you compare side-by-side with Texas and California, does not register as Midwestern.

Illinois is #5 — and a structural break from the Midwest baseline

Illinois sits at #5 nationally with a state score of 77.32 — 5.02 points behind Ohio (#4), but 0.60 ahead of Missouri (#6, 76.72), 0.75 ahead of Indiana (#7, 76.57), and 3.68 ahead of Wisconsin (#9, 73.64). The gap from IL to the rest of the Midwest is real, but it is narrower than the gap from Ohio to Illinois. The Midwest is bunched tightly between the high-70s and low-70s in state score; the top of that pack is Ohio, then Illinois, then a four-state cluster of Missouri / Indiana / Wisconsin / Iowa within 5 points of each other.

The volume picture sharpens the read. Illinois has 107 ranked clubs producing 1,892 teams, producing 238 elite teams above the 1700-Elo line. That is a 13% elite-team rate — at the same density level as Ohio (15%), Texas (19%), and California (14%). Different from Ohio at the macro shape: Illinois has 6 more clubs but 2 fewer elite teams than Ohio. The Illinois pool is broader; the Ohio pool is sharper. Different structural answers to a similar talent-development question.

Illinois is split across two USAV junior regions

Unlike Ohio (one region — Ohio Valley), Florida (its own region — Florida), or Texas (three regions — Lone Star, North Texas, Gulf Coast), Illinois is the only top-5 girls state split across two USAV junior regions: the Great Lakes Region (northern Illinois, headquartered in Burr Ridge IL, also covering Indiana and parts of Wisconsin) and the Gateway Region (southern Illinois and eastern Missouri — the St. Louis metro and downstate). This is the structural fact that makes the Illinois map look the way it does.

Great Lakes is the #5-ranked junior region nationally (region score 83.58, 162 ranked clubs, 292 elite teams) — sitting between Southern (#4) and Ohio Valley (#6). Most of the Illinois top 25 plays Great Lakes ball: 1st Alliance, Adversity, Sky High Adidas, SPVB, Ultimate, Mindset Premier, MOD Elite, Illini Elite, Lions, Club Fusion, Top Flight (both Elgin clubs), Impulse, VC United, Netforce, MVP 60450, Balance, Attack Volleyball, Diggersz, and EVC all sit inside Great Lakes geography. That's 19 of the 25 clubs.

Gateway picks up the southern third: BSVBC (O'Fallon — Metro East St. Louis, #9 in Illinois), Top Notch (Springfield, #11), Club Four (Quincy, #14), and SI Wave (Pinckneyville, #25) — four clubs. The Gateway Region as scored sits at #34 nationally (region score 59.07), but that figure averages across a smaller pool of clubs, many of which are in eastern Missouri. The Illinois contribution to Gateway is competitive at the top: BSVBC is the highest-ranked downstate-IL club, with a flagship squad (BSVBC 16-Black) at 2,203 Elo and the #29 national rank in the 16s.

Three Illinois flagships in the national top 25 of their age

Beyond the club composite, the team-level Elo numbers show three Illinois squads inside the national top 25 in their age cut — all in the 16s or 12s, not in the graduating 18s where the recruiting spotlight concentrates:

  1. 1st Alliance 16-Gold (1st Alliance, Woodridge) — 2,293 Elo, #9 in the 16s, 41-14. The highest-rated Illinois team in our data this season and the only one inside the national top 10 in any age cut.

  2. Adversity 16-Adidas (Adversity, Wood Dale) — 2,219 Elo, #25 in the 16s, 41-19. The second-place Adversity flagship gives Illinois two of the top-25 sixteens nationally, from clubs less than 20 miles apart on the I-355 corridor in DuPage County. A genuine age-band concentration.

  3. VC United 12-Evren (VC United, Loves Park / Rockford) — 2,034 Elo, #25 in the 12s, 8-0. An undefeated 12s flagship from a Rockford-area club — the rare top-25 IL club outside the Chicago + downstate axes. Small sample (8 matches), but the Elo grade is clean.

For context: Ohio has three teams inside the national top 10. Illinois has one in the top 10 and two more in the top 25. The Illinois top end is broader, slightly less compressed at the peak. Three top-25 flagships from a #5 state — without TX/CA/FL volume — is a high-end-per-team number.

Two undefeated flagship squads — both in the 12s

A statistical curiosity worth flagging: two Illinois top-25 club flagships went undefeated this season, both in the 12s age cut:

  • Impulse 12-Red (Impulse, Manteno — south Chicago metro / Kankakee corridor) — 19-0 (100%) at 1,849 Elo. National rank #147 in the 12s. A perfect 12s season from a club tagged at the elite threshold itself.

  • VC United 12-Evren (VC United, Loves Park) — 8-0 (100%) at 2,034 Elo. Higher peak rating, smaller match sample. National rank #25 in the 12s — the highest-ranked of the two undefeated squads.

Two undefeated 12s flagships from a single state is unusual. For comparison, Ohio had one undefeated squad (Grandlake 17-A henkle at 12-0); Texas, California, and Florida had zero in their top-25 club flagships. The right way to read these is "structurally efficient season against the schedule available," not "would beat any opponent in the country" — VC United played only 8 matches, and Impulse's national-ranking comparison set is smaller at the 12s than at the 16s+. The Elo grade still tells you something real: two clubs that did not lose a match.

Chicagoland dominates, but downstate Illinois shows up

The geographic shape of the top 25 is Chicago-heavy, as expected — 17 of the 25 clubs are in the Chicago metropolitan area (DuPage, Cook, Will, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Kankakee counties). But Illinois is the only top-5 girls state with material downstate representation. Below the Chicago metro line, Illinois lands 6 clubs: Illini Elite in Bloomington (#10 in Illinois, the highest non-Chicago-metro club), Top Notch Volleyball Club in Springfield, Club Four in Quincy on the Mississippi River, BSVBC in O'Fallon (Metro East — across the river from St. Louis), diggersz in Princeton (central IL, north of Peoria), and SI Wave in Pinckneyville (deep southern Illinois, an hour south of St. Louis). The Loves Park / Rockford entry from VC United is the other non-Chicago metro flag.

Within Chicagoland, the West Suburbs cluster is the densest: 9 clubs from Woodridge / Wood Dale / Aurora / Batavia / Elgin / Plainfield / Homer Glen — a DuPage-into-Kane-and-Will sweep that contains the #1, #2, #4, #13, #15, #21 (Top Flight Elgin), and #24 clubs in the state. The North Suburbs add 5 clubs (Sky High Adidas in Crystal Lake, Mindset Premier in Niles, MOD Elite in Northbrook, Balance in Cary, Netforce in Waukegan), and the South Suburbs / Kankakee corridor add 3 (Michio in Evergreen Park, Impulse in Manteno, MVP 60450 in Morris). The footprint is broader and more evenly distributed across the metro than any other top-5 state — there is no single Chicago neighborhood that anchors the entire list the way Mason anchors Ohio for Elevation.

A "two-clubs-on-the-same-domain" pattern in DuPage County

Three of the top-25 clubs in our data share interesting brand-and-website overlap with another top-25 club. We are flagging these openly rather than silently de-duping — the underlying teams and matches are real, but parents searching for the brand should know the relationship:

  • 1st Alliance (#1) and Lions (#12) both list 1stalliancevbc.net as their website. Both Woodridge-based. Lions appears to be a sub-brand or feeder program operated by 1st Alliance — the Lions 14-Red flagship is a 1,887-Elo team. Real entity, real result; just be aware these are part of the same parent organization.

  • Top Flight Volleyball Academy (#15) and Top Flight (#21) both list topflightvbc.com as their website. Both Elgin-based. Without an admin merge decision, we are showing both: the #15 entry runs 16 teams (small program), the #21 entry runs 101 teams (large participation program). Likely an organizational split between travel/elite teams and house/development teams, or a club-name change mid-season that left two rows.

  • SPVB (#4) lists greatlakescenter.com as its website — that is the venue (Great Lakes Center in Aurora), not a club domain. Sports Performance Volleyball Club is the most-recognized name; the listing is correctly grouped, just be aware the public-facing brand and the website do not match cleanly.

We are following the same policy as in the Texas and California pieces: do not silently merge, do not silently de-duplicate. If the user picks a parent organization (say, 1st Alliance) they should be able to find Lions and understand the relationship. The lists in those state pieces called out the Areté / Arete and AP / APV split-row patterns; this is the Illinois version of the same care.

What this list does not measure

Three things deliberately left out of the VolleyLens club score, in case they matter to your decision:

  1. Coaching staff continuity. A first-year head coach at 1st Alliance and a 20-year head coach at Sports Performance VB are scored identically by us — match results do not know who is on the bench.

  2. Recruiting placement. We do not track college commitments at the club level yet. Illinois is historically a strong feeder state into the Big Ten (Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan) and into Power-Four Big 12 / SEC programs; placement is not what we are measuring here.

  3. Practice intensity, travel cost, scholarship policy. The score answers "how well did the teams perform?" — it does not answer "is this the right club for my family?" Travel cost in particular varies widely across the Illinois pool: a Woodridge-based 1st Alliance team and a Pinckneyville-based SI Wave team face very different qualifier-tournament logistics. AAU Junior Nationals (Orlando) and the AES Big South Open (Atlanta) are multi-day flight events for almost every club in this list. Talk to current parents before you decide.

Notes on data quality

Illinois is messier on USAV region tagging than Ohio was — we identified 8 clubs in the top 25 with wrong or missing region values in our source data. The clubs and their scores are correct; only the region tags are off. Flagging each one explicitly so parents searching by region can trust the underlying ranking:

  • 1st Alliance (#1 in Illinois) — tagged NULL, actual: Great Lakes (Woodridge is Burr Ridge HQ area).

  • Adversity (#2 in Illinois) — tagged International, actual: Great Lakes (Wood Dale is northwest Chicago suburbs).

  • Ultimate (#6 in Illinois) — tagged International, actual: Great Lakes (Chicago metro).

  • Mindset Premier (#7 in Illinois) — tagged International, actual: Great Lakes (Niles is north Chicago metro).

  • Top Flight Volleyball Academy (#15 in Illinois) — tagged NULL, actual: Great Lakes (Elgin is far northwest Chicago metro).

  • VC United (#17 in Illinois) — tagged Southern California, actual: Great Lakes (Loves Park is the Rockford metro).

  • Netforce (#18 in Illinois) — tagged Southern, actual: Great Lakes (Waukegan is on Lake Michigan north of Chicago).

  • Club Fusion (#13 in Illinois) — tagged Badger, actual: Great Lakes (Batavia is Kane County, west Chicago metro).

Two other small notes:

  • Ultimate (#6) has a null city field in our source data. Per its website, Ultimate Volleyball Club is Chicago-metro based. We are leaving the field empty here rather than guess at the exact suburb.

  • All 25 flagship-team matches resolved cleanly via the stable-ID join path — the same 100% close we got in Ohio. The earlier Texas, California, and Florida pieces had 4–5 clubs each where the flagship-team sentence was omitted because the club-name string did not match between tables. Those will be refreshed to use the ID path on the next iteration.

How this list changes

The live Illinois girls leaderboard updates nightly as new match results come in. A club’s standing here is a snapshot — if a top-5 club drops a national qualifier this weekend, it may not be top-5 by Monday. We will refresh this article at midseason (January 2027) and at season end (May 2027).

The article you are reading is a snapshot as of June 19, 2026. If you came here from a Google search expecting today’s exact numbers, the live page is where to go. If you came here looking for what the 2025-2026 club season looked like overall in Illinois, you are in the right place.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the #1 girls volleyball club in Illinois for the 2025-2026 season?

1st Alliance (Woodridge, in the southwest Chicago suburbs) is the #1-ranked girls volleyball club in Illinois — and the #4 club in the entire country — for the 2025-2026 season, with a VolleyLens club score of 2,113 across 36 teams, 30 of which sit above the 1700-Elo elite threshold. Its flagship squad, 1st Alliance 16-Gold, sits at 2,293 Elo and #9 nationally in the 16s with a 41-14 season record. 1st Alliance is the only non-warm-weather club inside the national top 10.

Is Illinois a top girls volleyball state?

Yes — Illinois is the #5-ranked girls club volleyball state nationally for the 2025-2026 season, with a VolleyLens state score of 77.32, behind Texas (86.82), California (86.58), Florida (84.28), and Ohio (82.34) — and ahead of Missouri (76.72) at #6 and Indiana (76.57) at #7. Illinois has 107 ranked clubs and 1,892 teams, producing 238 elite teams (1700+ Elo).

What region does Illinois belong to in USAV?

Illinois is the only top-5 girls state split across two USAV junior regions. Most of the state — including 1st Alliance, Adversity, Sky High Adidas, SPVB, and roughly 19 of the top 25 clubs — competes in the Great Lakes Region (headquartered in Burr Ridge IL, also covering Indiana and parts of Wisconsin; #5-ranked region nationally). Southern Illinois — BSVBC in O'Fallon, Top Notch in Springfield, Club Four in Quincy, SI Wave in Pinckneyville — competes in the Gateway Region (also covering eastern Missouri / the St. Louis metro).

Which Illinois girls volleyball teams are nationally ranked top 25 in their age?

Three Illinois girls teams sit inside the national top 25 in their age cut for the 2025-2026 season: 1st Alliance 16-Gold (#9 in the 16s, 2,293 Elo) from 1st Alliance in Woodridge, Adversity 16-Adidas (#25 in the 16s, 2,219 Elo) from Adversity in Wood Dale, and VC United 12-Evren (#25 in the 12s, 2,034 Elo, undefeated at 8-0) from VC United in Loves Park near Rockford. The two top-25 sixteens are based less than 20 miles apart in the DuPage County corridor.

What is elite-team density and why does it matter?

Elite-team density is the percentage of a club’s roster that competes above the 1700-Elo elite threshold. It separates clubs that have a flagship team plus a developmental pipeline from clubs where the developmental pipeline is the flagship. 1st Alliance leads Illinois at 83% (30 of 36 teams elite) — the second-highest density of any top-25 club we have covered in any state, behind only Elevation 3120 in Ohio (91%). At the opposite end, Club Fusion shows the participation-first model — 128 teams but only 17 elite (13%) — both legitimate program shapes, optimizing for different outcomes.

Which Chicago metro area has the most top-25 girls volleyball clubs?

The Chicago West Suburbs — 9 of the 25 clubs in the top 25 are based in the DuPage / Kane / Will / Kankakee corridor from Woodridge through Aurora, Batavia, Elgin, Plainfield, and Homer Glen. That is more than the Chicago North Suburbs (5 clubs) or the Chicago South Suburbs (3 clubs). Greater Chicagoland in aggregate accounts for 17 of 25 top-25 clubs.

Are there top-25 girls volleyball clubs in Illinois outside Chicago?

Yes — 7 of the 25 clubs are based outside the Chicago metropolitan area: Illini Elite in Bloomington (central IL, the highest-ranked non-Chicago-metro club at #10 in the state), BSVBC in O'Fallon (Metro East, across the river from St. Louis, with a flagship team ranked #29 nationally in the 16s), Top Notch Volleyball Club in Springfield, Club Four in Quincy on the Mississippi River, VC United in Loves Park near Rockford, diggersz in Princeton, and SI Wave in Pinckneyville in deep southern Illinois.

What does the win-rate percentage measure?

The club’s overall win rate across all opponents — not just opponents from Illinois. Every match the club’s teams played against any opponent in the country counts. So 1st Alliance’s 72.7% means 1st Alliance teams won 72.7% of their matches season-wide, including out-of-state qualifiers like the AES Big South Open in Atlanta and AAU Junior Nationals in Orlando.

Why does Illinois show up at #5 when Wisconsin and Iowa have similar populations?

Population is not the variable — club density and elite-team production are. Wisconsin (#9, state score 73.64) has 112 ranked clubs but only 157 elite teams; Iowa (#11, 71.45) has 59 clubs and 85 elite teams. Illinois has 107 clubs and 238 elite teams — a meaningfully higher absolute elite-team count than any neighbor. The Chicago metropolitan area produces volleyball-club volume on par with much larger Sun Belt metros, and the downstate-IL pool (Bloomington, Springfield, Quincy, Metro East) adds depth that Wisconsin and Iowa do not have a structural analog to.

When was this ranking last updated?

This article snapshots the rankings as of June 19, 2026. The live Illinois leaderboard updates nightly as new match results come in. We refresh this article at midseason (January) and at season end (May).

Where can I find the live, always-current rankings?

The Illinois girls volleyball rankings page updates nightly and reflects the current state-rank order. The article you are reading is the editorial snapshot in time; the live page is the moving picture.

Further reading

By Leo Marushevskyi, founder of VolleyLens. Have a correction or want to add data? Contact us.

By Leo Marushevskyi