The blind drawing that determines the state final pairings in bracketed team sports was held at the IHSA Office on Wednesday, September 11, starting at approximately 11:30 am. This drawing covered the fall sports of boys soccer and girls volleyball. Boys football, which operates under a different system, will be paired on Football Pairings Night, October 26.
Visiting members of the IHSA Bass Fishing Advisory Committee made the drawings. Traditionally, the pairings are made by ordering the sites that feed into the state finals in alphabetical order and numbering them from 1 to 4. Then the numbered peas are drawn from a bottle. The number on the first pea drawn represents the site whose winner will occupy the first position on the bracket, and so on.
"The rolling of the peas" dates back to at least 1940.
Boys Class 1A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Breese (Mater Dei) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional #1 (south suburbs)
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional #2 (central Illinois)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, TBA Super-Sectional #1 (south suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional #2 (central Illinois)
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Breese (Mater Dei) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 2A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Chatham (Glenwood) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional #1 (north & west suburbs)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional #1 (north & west suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #1, Chatham (Glenwood) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #2, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 3A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Barrington Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Hoffman Estates (Conant) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #2, Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #3, Hoffman Estates (Conant) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Barrington Super-Sectional
Girls Class 1A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Bridgeport (Red Hill) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Freeport (Aquin) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of New Berlin Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Varna (Midland) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, New Berlin Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Freeport (Aquin) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #1, Bridgeport (Red Hill) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, Varna (Midland) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 2A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Farmington Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Johnsburg Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Palos Heights (Chicago Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Vandalia Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Palos Heights (Chicago Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Vandalia Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Johnsburg Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Farmington Super-Sectional
Girls Class 3A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Darien (Hinsdale South) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of LaSalle (L-Peru) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Taylorville Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Wheaton (St. Francis) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #2, LaSalle (L-Peru) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Wheaton (St. Francis) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Taylorville Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Darien (Hinsdale South) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 4A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Blue Island (Eisenhower) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Palatine (Fremd) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Streamwood Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Palatine (Fremd) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Streamwood Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Blue Island (Eisenhower) Super-Sectional
Sectional Pairings
In both boys soccer and girls volleyball, some sectionals are seeded in their entirety ("sectional complexes") and some are seeded in two separate groups ("subsectionals"). The seeds are then distributed among four regionals for the first level of competition. In the sectional semifinals, the regional champions are paired as follows:
Sectional complex: The regional containing the #1 seed is paired with the regional containing the #4 seed, while the regional containing the #2 seed is paired with the regional containing the #3 seed.
Two subsectionals: The regional containing the #1 seed of subsectional A is paired with the regional containing the #2 seed of subsectional B, while the regional containing the #1 seed of subsectional B is paired with the regional containing the #2 seed of subsectional A. An exception to these pairings is made for the southernmost sectional in Class 3A boys soccer and Class 4A girls volleyball. In these sectionals, the two regional winners from the Metro-East area will play at a local site. The winners of the central Illinois regionals will play their semifinal at another site. The sectional championship game will be played at the sectional site.