Ridgewood Spartans Volleyball: 2026 Schedule, Results and Roster
Ridgewood Spartans · Woodhull, Illinois
Latest result: lost 0-2 at Alleman on September 1. Now 1-8. Next: Mercer County, Monday September 14.
2026: 1-8 · Coach: Ciara Clark · 2025: 2-29, last in the Lincoln Trail
On August 29, Ridgewood beat Rockridge in three sets. It was roughly their third win in thirty-five matches going back to the start of last season, and it deserves more than a line in a standings table.
2026 so far
- Aug 24 — lost at Monmouth-Roseville, 0-2
- Aug 25 — lost to Kewanee, 0-2
- Aug 27 — lost to Orion, 0-2
- Aug 29 — beat Rockridge, 2-1
Three straight-sets defeats, then a three-set win. In a season that will be measured in increments, that is the increment.
Sept 1 — lost at Alleman 0-2. The only match of the week. Ridgewood have nothing scheduled between September 7 and 12, which we would like to confirm with the school rather than assume.
What 2025 looked like
2-29 overall. 0-11 in the Lincoln Trail. Twelfth of twelve.
The season ended on October 28, losing to Orion 25-18, 25-10.
There is no way to dress that up, and we are not going to try. What is worth saying is that the same co-op won a state championship in another sport two years ago, which means the athletic department is not the problem.
The roster
Four seniors: libero Millie Dzekunskas, setter/right side Haylee Bennett, middle Mackenzie Peck and Pyper Swanson (right side/setter).
Juniors Leah Duyvejonck (libero/outside) and Ava Trout fill in behind them.
September schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 1 | at Alleman | Away |
| Sept 14 | Mercer County | Home |
| Sept 16 | Galva † | Home |
| Sept 19 | Knoxville Tournament | Away |
| Sept 21 | West Central † | Home |
| Sept 23 | at Wethersfield † | Away |
| Sept 28 | at Knoxville † | Away |
| Sept 30 | Bureau Valley † | Home |
† Lincoln Trail Conference.
Galva at home on September 16 is the most winnable fixture of the month — the two teams finished eleventh and twelfth last season, and Galva is 1-1.
The softball state championship
Two springs ago, the same co-op won the IHSA Class 1A softball state championship — the first state title in its history. The IHSA files it under “Woodhull (AlWood).”
It has stayed strong since: 23-10 in 2026, second in conference at 10-1, eliminated 5-1 by West Central in the state series in May.
And Ridgewood Junior High girls won the IESA state softball title in September 2024, which suggests the pipeline is real.
A school that can win a state softball championship can build a volleyball team. That is the argument for patience here.
What Ridgewood actually is
Not a school. A co-operative formed in 2009 between Cambridge High School — the Vikings — and AlWood High School in Woodhull. Together they compete as the Spartans in volleyball, football, basketball, softball, track, dance and cheer.
Cambridge enrolls 116 and AlWood 98, for a combined 214.
Two things that trip people up: MaxPreps files the team under Woodhull, not Cambridge, and there is an unrelated Ridgewood High School in Norridge near Chicago.
Cambridge is the Henry County seat and its high school is listed among the oldest public high schools in the United States. More on the Spartans →
A data note
MaxPreps’ two Ridgewood pages disagree about the August 29 tournament — one records the Rockridge match as a win, the other as a loss, and adds two further defeats.
We have used the schedule page, which is the more reliable of the two. If you were there and can settle it, tell us.
The postseason
State semifinals Friday, November 13, finals Saturday, November 14, at CEFCU Arena in Normal.
October 2026 schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Oct 5 | ROWVA/Williamsfield | Home | 7:00 p.m. |
| Wed, Oct 7 | at Princeville | Away | 7:00 p.m. |
| Thu, Oct 8 | at Rockridge | Away | 7:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Oct 10 | at Sherrard | Away | TBA |
| Mon, Oct 12 | at United | Away | 7:00 p.m. |
| Wed, Oct 14 | Stark County | Home | 7:00 p.m. |
| Mon, Oct 19 | at Abingdon-Avon | Away | 7:00 p.m. |
| Wed, Oct 21 | Annawan | Home | 7:00 p.m. |
Two records, one team: how Ridgewood’s history is filed
Ridgewood is a co-op, and that creates a genuine problem for anyone trying to state its all-time record. We are going to explain the problem rather than paper over it with a number that does not exist.
The Spartans are the AlWood (Woodhull) and Cambridge co-op, formed in 2009. The IHSA does not publish a combined Ridgewood volleyball line. It publishes two separate school records, and the co-op’s results appear to have been filed under one of them.
AlWood carries 380-381-9, a .499 percentage across 34 seasons from 1974-75. AlWood won district championships in 1975-76 and 1979-80 and a regional championship in 1993-94. No sectional, no state. Critically, AlWood’s volleyball record stops at 2008-09 — precisely when the co-op formed.
Cambridge carries 165-223, a .425 percentage across 14 seasons, with a district title in 1977-78 and regional championships in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Cambridge’s rows run from 2018-19 through 2025-26, the most recent being 2-29 under Toni Litton.
Put those together and the shape is suggestive: AlWood ends in 2009, Cambridge resumes in 2018, both are blank from 2009-10 through 2017-18, and Toni Litton coached AlWood volleyball from 2004 to 2008 before coaching Cambridge from 2023 to 2026. The most likely reading is that Ridgewood’s co-op volleyball is filed under Cambridge, with a nine-year gap where nothing was submitted at all.
We are labeling that a reading, not a fact. The IHSA pages do not mark either entry as a co-op. So when you see “Ridgewood’s all-time record” quoted somewhere as a single figure, be skeptical — there is no such line in the primary source. The honest statement is that the Spartans’ lineage includes three regional championships across two predecessor schools, and no sectional title in either.
Who is coaching in 2026
MaxPreps lists Ciara Clark as head coach, with the roster updated August 25, 2026. This is single-source. The IHSA’s coach of record for Cambridge through 2025-26 is Toni Litton, so this appears to be a change we have been able to confirm in only one place.
What we have not been able to confirm
- Whether Ridgewood’s co-op results are filed under Cambridge, AlWood, or neither.
- Why neither school shows volleyball rows from 2009-10 through 2017-18.
- The coaching change from Toni Litton to Ciara Clark — one source only.
- The Saturday, October 10 start time at Sherrard.
Anyone at Woodhull or Cambridge who can straighten out the record: we would genuinely like the help, and we will credit it.
Send us results
Volleyball gets a fraction of the coverage football does around here, and almost none of these matches are written up anywhere. If you have a result, a stat line or a photo, send it in — we post them as they come and correct errors the same day.
Records from MaxPreps schedule pages, cross-checked where the site’s own pages disagree. Postseason results via the Peoria Journal Star. All area volleyball standings →
