The blind drawing that determines the state final pairings in bracketed team sports was held at the IHSA Office on Wednesday, September 24, 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 25.
Greg Halbleib, sports broadcaster from WJBC in Bloomington, 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. Click here for history on "rolling peas" that dates back to 1947.
Boys Class 1A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Collinsville Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Warrensburg (W.-Latham) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional (northwest Illinois)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Warrensburg (W.-Latham) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #1, Collinsville Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional (northwest Illinois)
Boys Class 2A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Jacksonville (Illinois College) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lemont (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Lincolnshire (Stevenson) 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 #1, Jacksonville (Illinois College) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Lemont (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Lincolnshire (Stevenson) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 3A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Barrington #1 Super-Sectional (near sububs)
Pea #2 represents winner of Barrington #2 Super-Sectional (far suburbs to Rockford)
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 #1, Barrington #1 Super-Sectional (near sububs)
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #3, Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #2, Barrington #2 Super-Sectional (far suburbs to Rockford)
Girls Class 1A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Danville Schlarman Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Elgin (Harvest Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Mt. Sterling (Brown County) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Valmeyer Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Danville Schlarman Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Elgin (Harvest Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Mt. Sterling (Brown County) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, Valmeyer Super-Sectional
Girls Class 2A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Chicago (Christ the King) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Granville (Putnam County) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Maroa (M.-Forsyth) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Vandalia Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Maroa (M.-Forsyth) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Vandalia Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Granville (Putnam County) 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 Belvidere (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Breese (Central) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional (Chicago)
Pea #4 represents winner of LaSalle (L.-Peru) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, TBA Super-Sectional (Chicago)
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, LaSalle (L.-Peru) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #1, Belvidere (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #2, Breese (Central) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 4A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Evanston (Twp.) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Hinsdale (Central) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Normal (Community West) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional (northern suburbs)
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #2, Hinsdale (Central) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #3, Normal (Community West) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional (northern suburbs)
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Evanston (Twp.) Super-Sectional
Sectional Pairings
In both boys soccer and girls volleyball, some sectionals are seeded at the regional level. Those champions of those regionals will be paired randomly at the sectional, according to the following system:
- The names of the four regional sites will be alphabetized according to standard IHSA naming protocol and numbered from 1 to 4.
- The first sectional semifinal will pair the winner of Regional #3 and the winner of Regional #1.
- The second sectional semifinal will pair the winner of Regional #4 and the winner of Regional #2.
An exception to these pairings is made for the southernmost sectional in the following tournaments: Class 3A boys soccer and Class 4A girls volleyball. In these sectionals, the two regional winners from the Metro-East area will be paired in one semifinal and play at a local site. The winners of the other two regionals will play their semifinal at another site. The winners of these two games will play at the sectional site.