PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College volleyball team played on the road at Milwaukee Area Technical College on Tuesday night and at home against Joliet Junior College on Thursday night. The fifth-ranked Hawks won both matches in straight sets to improve to 16-7 overall and 5-1 in N4C play.

Harper vs. Milwaukee Area Technical College

In Tuesday night's road matchup with the Stormers, Harper was victorious, 25-6, 25-14, 25-13. The Hawks dominated the first set behind solid performances. Daniele Sortino (Elk Grove Village, Ill. /Elk Grove) led the attack with four kills, setter Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove) guided the offense with nine assists, and Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda) was 7-of-7 from the service line with an ace.

Harper started out slowly in the second set but eventually took an 11-7 lead on the way to a 25-14 win and 2-0 lead in the match. This time, Sarah Berggren (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) smashed four kills on eight attacks, and Jada Sharp (/Schaumburg Christian) added another four kills on 11 attacks.

The Hawks built up an 18-12 lead in the third set and prevailed, 25-13. Berggren and Sharp once again led the way with three kills. Setters Adriana Loiacono (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) and Jillian Hoffman (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) each had five assists, and Kayla Meyer was 8-of-8 serving with an ace.

Sharp and Berggren each totaled nine kills in the match. In the service game, Mayer was a perfect 18-of-18 with three aces. Libero Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill./Buffalo Grove) led the defensive effort with 21 digs, and Sommers had 22 assists in the match.

Harper vs. Joliet Junior College

Harper returned to its home court on Thursday evening and played well, earning a three-set victory over Joliet, 25-8, 25-15, 25-6.

The Hawks played their way to a 13-2 lead in the first set behind some strong serving from Sommers (11-of-12, ace) and coasted to a comfortable win. Chartier and Mayer played solid defensive with six digs each. Sortino and Loiacono smashed four and three kills, respectively.

In a much more challenging second set, Harper fell into an early 4-0 hole but fought back to trailing 11-9 before tying it up at 11-11. A Sortino kill gave the Hawks an 18-14 lead, and the hosts finished on a 7-1 run to win the game and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Chartier played strong defense with 11 digs and was 12-of-12 serving.

Harper started out well with a 10-2 lead in the third set and continued the strong play in winning 25-6. Sharp was 7-of-7 on attacks with four kills. Chartier added another six digs for a team-high 23 digs in the match.

Sortino led a balanced Harper attack with seven kills and also added 2.5 blocks. Debra Miller (/Marian Catholic) (2.5 blocks) and Berggren (2 blocks) both provided a boost on the defensive end. Sommers played a solid all-around match with 26 assists to go along with nine digs and 17-of-18 serving with two aces.

Up Next

Harper hosts a pair of tri-matches on Friday and Saturday. The Hawks will welcome Olivet Nazarene University JV (3 PM) and Kishwaukee College (7 PM) on Friday and Highland (Ill.) Community College (10 AM) and Prairie State College (2 PM) on Saturday.