PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College volleyball team played well in its first home match of 2014, taking down conference opponent Joliet Junior College in four sets, 25-13, 25-13, 23-25 and 25-9.

In the first game of the night, the Hawks (6-2, 2-0 N4C) and Wolves (4-8, 1-2 N4C) were tied at 8-8 in the early going, but Harper closed on a 17-5 run behind the strong hitting of Shannon Igielski (Streamwood, Ill/St. Edward) (five kills) for the victory.

Harper carried the momentum over into game two, racing out to an 18-7 lead en route to another win. Daniele Sortino (Elk Grove Village, Ill. /Elk Grove) paced the Hawks' attack with four kills while Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) was 8-of-9 serving with an ace and six digs.

The Hawks led 6-1 in game three, but the Wolves quickly fought back to an 11-11 tie. The remainder of the game was close before Joliet pulled out a narrow victory. In the game, Sortino put down four kills while Alyssia Dugo (Algonquin, Ill. /Jacobs) was 8-of-9 serving with three aces.

The Hawks overcame four early service errors in game four to take a 16-7 lead on their way to a 25-9 win. Lauren Sokolowski (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and Sarah Bregenzer (Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) totaled three kills apiece.

For the match, Igielski led Harper with nine kills while middle hitter Kim Butler (Palatine, Ill/Palatine) played well, going 6-of-6 hitting with five kills and also had a team-high three blocks. Lindsey Murphy (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Crystal Lake South) paced the Hawks with 21 assists, and Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) tallied 21 digs in the win.

The Hawks return to the court this weekend at the Rochester Community and Technical College Volleyball Invitational in Rochester, Minn. and will play four matches in the gym where the 2014 NJCAA DIII Volleyball Championship will be played.