The blind drawing that determines the state final pairings in bracketed team sports was held at the IHSA Office on Wednesday, September 23, starting at approximately 1:00 pm. 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 24.
Joe Deacon, sportswriter for the Bloomington Pantagraph, 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 Granite City Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Urbana (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional (northwest Illinois)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional (northwest Illinois)
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #1, Granite City Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Urbana (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 2A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Jacksonville (Illinois College) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Park Ridge (Maine South) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional (southwest suburbs)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Jacksonville (Illinois College) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Park Ridge (Maine South) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional (southwest suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 3A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Barrington #1 Super-Sectional (western suburbs)
Pea #2 represents winner of Barrington #2 Super-Sectional (northern suburbs)
Pea #3 represents winner of Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #4, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Barrington #2 Super-Sectional (northern suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #1, Barrington #1 Super-Sectional (western suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 1A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Centralia (Christ Our Rock Lutheran) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Effingham (St. Anthony) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Elgin (Westminster Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Hartsburg (H.-Emden) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Centralia (Christ Our Rock Lutheran) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Effingham (St. Anthony) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Elgin (Westminster Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, Hartsburg (H.-Emden) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 2A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Chicago (Christ the King) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Fairfield Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Manlius (Bureau Valley) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Warrensburg (W.-Latham) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Manlius (Bureau Valley) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Fairfield Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, Warrensburg (W.-Latham) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Chicago (Christ the King) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 3A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Elmhurst (IC Catholic) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Palos Heights (Chicago Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Princeton Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Wood River (East Alton-W.R.) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Elmhurst (IC Catholic) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Wood River (East Alton-W.R.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Palos Heights (Chicago Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Princeton Super-Sectional
Girls Class 4A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Bolingbrook Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Elmhurst (York) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Grayslake (Central) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Normal (Community West) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #2, Elmhurst (York) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Normal (Community West) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Grayslake (Central) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Bolingbrook 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.