Box Score

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – For the second time this week, the Harper College volleyball team was pushed to the brink.  And for the second time this week, the Hawks responded with a gutty five-set victory.  This time, Harper rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the final two sets over McHenry County (25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11).
 
“What is nice is that our players clearly played with their hearts to win these two matches,” said head coach Bob Vilsoet.  “Tonight was a good win against a talented team, and we gained a lot of experience while playing in a very close match from the beginning to the end.”
 
Harper (5-1, 1-0 N4C) won a tightly contested first set as McHenry County (0-3) pulled even at 8-8 and 12-12.  Veronica Dabrowski (Des Plaines, Ill., Rolling Meadows) had seven of her team-high 19 kills in the opening set to pace the Hawks.  Alyse Kolner (Crystal Lake, Ill., Marion Central) gave the team a big lift with her serving as she was 12-for-12 to go along with two aces in the set.
 
The Hawks stayed close throughout the second set, tying the Scots at 8-8 and 18-18, but Harper was unable to close out the set and went into the break tied at 1-1.  And after getting beaten in an uncharacteristically poor third set 25-19, the Hawks had to win the final two sets.
 
Tied at 12-12 in the fourth set, Harper started to impose their will.  The Hawks gradually built an 18-14 advantage and pulled away for the 25-16 win.  Stephanie Igielski (Streamwood, Ill., St. Edwards) was too much for McHenry to handle in the middle as she came up with four kills and a block.  The other middle, Clara Moravec (Lake in the Hills, Ill., Jacobs), had three kills, two blocks and two digs in the set. 
 
With each team side-outing in the final set, Harper finally grabbed an edge at 8-6.  McHenry  County battled back to tie the set at 10-10 but the Hawks rattled off the final five points to take the match.  Kelly Sommers (Arlington Heights, Ill., Buffalo Grove) had eight assists, five of which went to Dabrowski, and she added seven digs.
 
Moravec finished with ten kills while Erinn Hellweg (Wauconda, Ill., Wauconda) and Sarah House (Crystal Lake, Ill., Crystal Lake South) added eight and seven, respectively.  Moravec also was difficult to hit around as she tallied 4.5 blocks.  Sommers, Kelly Spychala (Des Plaines, Ill., Elk Grove), House and Kolner all reached double figures in digs, while Sommers notched her five double-double in six games with 46 assists and 19 digs.
 
Next on the schedule for the Hawks is a tri-match this weekend at Oakton Community College.  Harper will square off against N4C foe College of DuPage at 1:00 PM and the host Raiders at 3:00 PM.