PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College volleyball team placed 3rd out of 5 teams at the Harper College Invitational on Saturday. The Hawks defeated Rock Valley (#7 in DIII) and Moraine Valley but lost to College of Lake County and Carl Sandberg.
Harper (25-9) dropped their first match of the day to College of Lake County 3-1 (26-28, 25-15, 24-26, 21-25). Liz Dotson (Palatine, Ill., Fremd) had a team-high 12 kills on 19 of 24 hitting while Sarah House (Crystal Lake, Ill., Crystal Lake South) and Lauren LaMasse (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Hoffman Estates) had eight kills apiece. Kelly Sommers (Arlington Heights, Ill., Buffalo Grove) directed the offense with 31 assists while LaMasse and Dotson provided a presence at the net with 8 and 6 blocks, respectively. Andraia Leja (Crystal Lake, Ill., Prairie Ridge) had 23 digs.
In their next match, the Hawks won a rematch of earlier in the week with Rock Valley 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21). LaMasse had 13 kills and House had 8. Leja contributed 4 aces from the service line while Stephanie Igielski (Streamwood, Ill., St. Edwards) had 4 blocks. Alyssa Cazzato (Bartlett, Ill., Bartlett) had 32 assists at setter for Harper.
The third match of the day was a lengthy one for the Hawks as they dropped a 5-gamer to Carl Sandberg (20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-11, 12-15). LaMasse and House once again led the team on attack with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while Lindsey Pickle (Arlington Heights, Ill., Prospect) added 9 kills. Leja turned in another impressive effort serving, tallying 4 aces while also contributing 27 digs. Cazzato had 45 assists.
In their final match of the day, Harper beat Moraine Valley 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 25-19). LaMasse and House combined for 34 kills while Sierra Gilmore (Fayetteville, NC, Cape Fear) had a team-best 5 blocks. Megan Kollmeyer (Tustin, Mich., Pine River) led 4 players with at least 18 digs as she totaled 21. Cazzato had a double-double with 38 assists and 18 digs.
Cazzato and LaMasse were named to the All-Tournament team. Over four games, Cazzato had 124 assists and 48 digs while LaMasse had a team-high 52 kills and 17 blocks.
The team resumes N4C play on Tuesday night in Palatine, hosting the College of DuPage. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
