PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College volleyball team entered the weekend as the No. 2 team in the nation at the NCAA Div. III level. Despite dropping a tough five-set opening match, the Hawks (11-4) rebounded with three straight three-set wins to close the weekend with a 3-1 record.

Harper vs. Central Lakes College-Brainerd

Squaring off with a very strong Central Lakes team, the Hawks fell in a five-set heartbreaker, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 13-15.

Tied at 14-14 in the first set, Harper forged ahead 21-14 behind some strong serving from Hannah Moore (/Schaumburg). Daniele Sortino (Elk Grove Village, Ill. /Elk Grove) and Sarah Berggren (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) led Harper with three kills apiece, helping the Hawks take a 1-0 lead in the match.

After taking an early 12-6 lead, Harper committed several unforced hitting errors in the set that allowed the Raiders to take the lead late in the set on the way to victory. Berggren paced the attack again with four kills, and libero Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) had 13 digs in the set.

Adriana Loiacono (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) broke out in the third set with six kills, leading the Hawks to a 2-1 lead in the match. Jillian Hoffman (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) provided sound defense with seven digs. Harper trailed throughout the fourth set as the Raiders went on to win and force a fifth set.

The Hawks started with a 7-4 lead in the deciding set and still led 12-10 but could not close the match out. Three untimely missed serves in the set cost Harper valuable points.

Berggren was a perfect 34-of-34 hitting in the match with 15 kills while Loiacono and Sortino each put down 11 kills. Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove) played another excellent match with a double-double of 19 digs and 39 assists to go along with 22-of-22 serving with two aces. Chartier had a team-high 32 digs in the match, and the Hawks totaled 109 digs as a team.

Harper vs. Minnesota West Community & Technical College

In Friday night's matchup, the Hawks bounced back from a tough loss earlier in the day for a three-set victory over the Bluejays, 25-10, 25-13, 25-21.

Harper jumped out to a big 17-6 lead before going on to win. Sommers guided the offense with 11 assists while Berggren, Jada Sharp (/Schaumburg Christian), and Shannon Igielski (Streamwood, Ill/St. Edward) each tallied three kills. Berggren also was strong in the service game, going 6-of-6 with three aces.

The Hawks wasted no time in the second set, taking a 9-1 lead on the way to a dominant 25-13 victory. Hoffman handed out nine assists, four of those to Loiacono.

The third set was a much different story, as the fell into an early 8-3 hole and remained behind. After closing the gap to 19-16, Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda)'s strong serving helped tie the game at 19-19. Tied at 21-21, Harper scored the final four points to close out the match. Mayer had five digs and was a perfect 7-of-7 serving with an ace in the set.

Stat leaders:

Kills: Adriana Loiacono (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) 13-of-14, eight kills

Serving: Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda) 19-of-19, three aces

Blocking: Sarah Berggren (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) three blocks

Digs: Jada Sharp (/Schaumburg Christian) and Hannah Moore (/Schaumburg) nine digs each

Assists: Jillian Hoffman (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) 20 assists

Harper vs. Ellsworth Community College

In Saturday morning's match with the Ellsworth Panthers, Harper prevailed in straight sets, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18.

Tied at 11-11, the Hawks finally pulled ahead 15-11 and won the first set. Igielski, Sortino, and Berggren put down three kills apiece while Sommers handed out 12 assists and Chartier added nine digs.

Harper carried over the momentum into the second set, building an 18-12. After some exciting and extended rallies in the late stages of the game, the Hawks prevailed 25-15. Debra Miller (/Marian Catholic) showed off her offensive skills with a team-best three kills in the game.

The Hawks continued with their strong starts to lead 6-2 and 17-4 before winning 25-18. Berggren led the charge while Miller, Sortino, and Hoffman each put down three kills.

Stat leaders:

Kills: Sarah Berggren (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) 24-of-26, 11 kills

Serving: Hannah Moore (/Schaumburg) 12-of-12, three aces

Blocking: Debra Miller (/Marian Catholic) three blocks

Digs: Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) 21 digs

Assists: Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove) 31 assists

Double-Double: Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove)

Harper vs. Hibbing Community College

Looking to finish off the weekend on a high note, the Hawks took down the Hibbing Cardinals in straight sets, 24-11, 25-4, 25-13.

Igielski played a big role in a first set win with four kills on five attacks while Loiacono added three more kills. In the second set, Moore served an outstanding game, going 16-of-16 with six aces. Hoffman guided Harper with 13 assists in the third set to complete the Hawks complete the sweep.

For the match, Moore was an impressive 24-of-25 serving with nine aces, and the Hawks had 15 aces as a team. Defensively, Loiacono and Chartier had eight digs apiece.

Hoffman finished with 22 assists in the match, and Loiacono reached double figures in kills with 10.

Thoughts from Head Coach Bob Vilsoet

"All in all, a good weekend of volleyball where everybody on the roster got to play. We did drive a long way to play these four matches, but it was teams we don't normally play and allowed for some team bonding."

Up Next

The Hawks have a very busy week coming up. They host College of DuPage (3-3, 2-1 N4C) on Tuesday night at 6 PM inside the Wellness & Sports Center then travel to Rock Valley College on Thursday night.

Harper will then host the 11-team Harper College Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Hawks play Lake Land College (5 PM) and Oakton Community College (7 PM) on Friday evening and John A. Logan College (10 AM) and Rochester Community & Technical College (12 PM) on Saturday.