IESA Headlines

2023 Seventh Grade Volleyball State Tournaments Begin Friday

For the 15th time in Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) history four champions will be crowned in the seventh grade girls volleyball state tournament series. Competition in the Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A state final tournaments begins Friday (March 10) and concludes Saturday (March 11) at four sites.

Class 1A will be played at Clinton JHS; Class 2A will be played at Brimfield JHS/HS; Warrensburg-Latham will be the site of Class 3A; and Normal Kingsley will host Class 4A.

The time schedule for all four tournaments will be the same. There will be four quarterfinal matches that will be played on Friday starting at 4:30 p.m. The two semifinal matches will then be held on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Third place and championship matches will also be played on Saturday with the third-place match set for 2:00 p.m. and the championship match scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

Any changes in the playing status of each of the four tournaments will be posted on the IESA website, and scores will be updated throughout the day at www.iesa.org as each tournament progresses.

Tickets may be purchased through GoFan. Digital ticket prices for each day will be $8.00 for adults and high school students and $4.00 for students (K-8) and senior citizens (62 and over). 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. Fans can access the IESA GoFan page at the following link: https://www.iesa.org/gofan/ For those fans unable to use GoFan, cash tickets will be available on-site for $10.00 for adults and high school students and $5.00 for students (K-8) and senior citizens (62 and over). Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free throughout the tournament.

This is the 46th year that IESA has conducted state championships in volleyball. The first IESA State Girls Volleyball tournament was held in 1976. There was one-class competition from 1976-84. From 1985-1988, the state series was divided into Class A and Class AA based on a school's 7th and 8th grade enrollment. From 1989-2006, there were two classes at the state series for the seventh grade (7A and 7AA) and two classes for the eighth grade (8A and 8AA) again based on a school's 7th and 8th grade enrollment. Beginning in 2007, the seventh grade and eighth grade series were divided into four classes. The 7th grade now has four champions (1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) and the 8th grade has four champions (1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A).

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 the schedule for each of the 7th grade state final tournaments:

For more information, please contact IESA Assistant Executive Director and Volleyball Administrator Kristen D’Alfonso at kristen@iesa.org.