Full All-Conference Team
PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College volleyball team had three players named to the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) All-Conference teams. Libero Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) was named First Team All-Conference, and middle hitter Daniele Sortino (Elk Grove Village, Ill. /Elk Grove) and outside hitter Lauren Sokolowski (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) were both voted Second Team All-Conference.
Chartier led the nation in digs with 850, outpacing her nearest challenger by over 120 digs and setting a Hawks record for digs in a season in the process. The first-year player broke a Harper College record for digs in a five-set match when she totaled 42 digs in an Oct. 17 match against Ridgewater College. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team five different times (College of DuPage 19th Annual Classic, Harper College Invitational, Harper College Invite, Lincoln Land Invitational, and Region IV All-Tournament Team).
"Meghan had an outstanding year. Sophomores generally improve a lot from year-to-year, so I can't wait to see what she does next year," said Harper head coach Bob Visoet. "Meghan allowed us to compete against many top teams. We were 2-0 against D1 teams and 21-5 against D2 teams in large part thanks to the defense Meghan brought forth."
Sortino was second on the team in kills with 309. The first-year player was ninth in the nation in solo blocks with 76 and 10th in the nation in total blocks with 108. Sortino was the best on the team with a .281 hitting percentage and second on the team with 2.12 kills/set. She also was strong in the service game with 470-of-500 serving (94 percent) and 36 aces.
"Daniele is a very strong blocker and hitter. She is a force and continues to get point after point and block after block," Vilsoet said. "I was glad to see her receive the recognition that I feel that she was due."
Sokolowski led the Hawks in kills (333) and kills/set (2.56) and was second on the team in digs (478). The first year player was named the NJCAA Div. III National Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 1-7 and was also named Harper College Athlete of the Week. Her 20-kill effort on Oct. 9 helped lead the Hawks to a victory over No. 1 Madison College.
"She is a strong two-way player. Sokolowski can take over a match as evidenced in wins over Bismarck State (14 kills, 34 digs) and our last win over national champion Madison (20 kills, 15 digs) this year," Vilsoet said. "I knew she would be good when I saw her play as a junior in high school and always hoped she would play volleyball at Harper College, even then."
