Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Palatine, Ill-The Harper College volleyball team concluded its phenomenal 2016 regular season with two more wins Saturday afternoon. The No.1 ranked Hawks (38-1) defeated both St. Ambrose JV and Illinois Valley Community College to finish the regular season with a 38-1 record. This is the most wins in Harper College volleyball history.

The first match turned into a battle for the Hawks. Harper dropped the first set 24-16, but fought back and dominated the second set 25-15. Led by freshman hitter Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian)'s seven kills, the Hawks were able to jump out to a 14-6 advantage. Harper would extend the lead to 23-13 with some skillful setting by Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove) (44 assists), who had 11 assists in the set.

With Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda) serving in set three the Hawks built an 8-2 lead and never let the score get closer than seven points winning 25-18. Mayer finished the set 9-9 serving with two aces. Kathryn Novy (/Dundee-Crown) and Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) also added seven kills, combined.

The Hawks dropped the fourth set 23-26, but rallied back to win the final set 15-10. Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) led Harper with four digs and two aces in the deciding frame.

Harper needed only the minimum to defeat Illinois Valley on Saturday. The Hawks dominated all three sets with strong play from everyone on the team.

The Hawks play College of DuPage on Oct. 29 at 10AM for a chance to play for the Region IV championship. First serve will be at 10 AM. The Hawks defeated the Chaparrals (12-23) twice in 2016. The first matchup took Harper four sets and the second the minimum three sets.