IESA Headlines

2016 IESA Eighth Grade Volleyball State Tournaments Begin Saturday

For the tenth time in Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) history, four champions will be crowned in the Eighth Grade Girls State Volleyball Tournament series. Competition in the Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A State Final Tournaments begins at four sites on Saturday (March 19) and concludes Tuesday (March 22).

Class 1A will be played at New Berlin JHS. Class 2A will be played at Auburn High School. The Class 3A tournament will be played at Tolono Unity Junior High School and Rochester Junior High School will host Class 4A.

The time schedule for all four tournaments will be the same. Upper bracket quarterfinals and semifinals will be played Saturday morning and early Saturday afternoon. Lower bracket quarterfinals and semifinals will be played Saturday afternoon and early evening. The upper bracket quarterfinals are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. The winners meet in the semifinal at 1:00 p.m. The lower bracket quarterfinals are scheduled for 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The winners meet in the semifinal at 5:15 p.m. Third place and championship matches will be played Tuesday with the third place match set for 5:30 p.m. and the championship match scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

Any changes in the playing status of each of the four tournaments will be posted on the IESA Website at www.iesa.org as each tournament progresses.

The price of admission Saturday is $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors (62 and over) and students (K-8) and is good for all games Saturday. Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free. Fans attending the games Saturday will receive a wristband that is to be worn all day and will be used for entry into that respective state final site only throughout the day. It will not be honored at any other 7th grade state final site. The price of admission for the third place and championship game session Thursday will be $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors and students (K-8). Children younger than kindergarten again are admitted free.

IESA Girls Volleyball began in 1976. There was one-class competition from 1976-84, and in 1985 the state series was divided into Class A and Class AA by school size. From 1989-2006, there were two classes state series for both seventh grade and eighth grade. Beginning in 2007, the seventh and eighth grade series were divided into four classes.

Complete pairings for each state final, plus the FanZone, can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Volleyball link at the top of the IESA Website Home Page.

Here is a look at each of the four 2016 Eighth Grade State Final Tournaments:

For more information, please contact IESA Assistant Executive Director and Volleyball Administrator Julie Cochran at julie@iesa.org.