Box Score

PALATINE, Ill.- The Harper Hawks Volleyball team, ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA National Preseason poll, got their N4C season off on the right foot defeating No. 9 Rock Valley in straight sets. The highly anticipated match was dominated by Harper 25-14, 25-15, 25-11.

Harper started fast and built at 7-1 lead in the first set before Rock Valley cut it to 9-5. Harper answered to take a 14-7 lead and continued to extend it to 21-12, before winning 25-14. Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda) showed her defensive prowess with seven digs while Kathryn Novy (/Dundee-Crown) added four kills in the set.

Confident after the first set win, Harper took an 8-0 lead in the second set, but a resilient Rock Valley squad fought back to make it 14-10. Again Harper showed why they are nationally ranked by lengthening their lead to 22-13 before winning going away by a final of 25-15. Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove) and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) would finish a combined 16-16 in the service game.

The third set started differently as the Hawks and Golden Eagles matched each other at 5-5 early on, but soon Harper would take control of the set and the match. Harper went up 10-6 on some masterful serving by Emily Huprich (/Elgin) who was 8-8 in the set with 2 aces. The lead would then balloon to 20-10 and then 22-11 behind a run of eight consecutive serves by Hannah Moore (/Schaumburg). The final tally would be 25-11 in favor of Harper.

"We played very well this match," said Harper Coach Bob Vilsoet. "This is a good win to have."

As a team the Hawks outscored the Golden Eagles by a 75-40 margin and looked dominant throughout the match. Katelyn Sommers (/Buffalo Grove), guided the Hawks attack with 24 out of the 25 Harper assists, while Kayla Mayer (/Wauconda) buoyed the defense with 17 digs on the night.

UP NEXT
The Hawks, in their home opener, will square off against a struggling Joliet Junior College team (0-4), who was defeated by College of DuPage on Tuesday. The game will take place on Thursday, Aug 31. at 6PM in Palatine.