PALATINE, IL-  The #1 ranked Harper College volleyball team traveled to Freeport, IL on Saturday to take on DII opponents Highland Community College and South Suburban College.  The Hawks returned from the Highland Tri-Match with a 2-0 record.

MATCH 1- Harper defeated Highland Community College (25-13, 25-11, 25-7)

Coming off their first three-set sweep in 2 years, the Hawks started the first set hot with a 6-0 lead behind Emily Huprich (/Elgin)'s serving.  Harper would stay in control throughout, seeing leads of 11-3 and 16-7 before finishing with a 25-13 win.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) and Mackenzie Bush (/Bartlett) had 4 kills each while Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 3 kills and 3 block-kills.  Huprich had 12 assists to go along with her 2 service aces.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) led the Hawks with 6 digs.

After beginning the second set tied 1-1, Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) stepped up with 5 straight service points for a 6-1 lead.  The Hawks would pile it on with leads at 15-5, 18-8 and 22-11.  Harper would then win set two 25-11.  Burzlaff once again paced the Hawks with another 5 kills and Udoni added 2 more plus another block-kill. In addition to her serving, Chelini had 5 digs and Karolina Sas (/Fremd) was perfect serving, going 6-6.

Huprich started the third set as she did the first, logging 6 straight service points.  Highland called a time-out but Huprich wasn't done yet and put the Hawks ahead 7-0.  Harper would not give any opportunity for a comeback and took the third set 25-7, ending the match.  Burzlaff led the Hawks again with 3 kills and Udoni's strong net presence continued with 3 more block-kills.  Chelini had another 5 digs while Huprich, Burzlaff, and Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) each had 4.  Sas kept her strong serving going with a 7-7 performance and 2 aces.

The Hawks finished the match with 33 kills, 31 assists, and 7 aces on offense.  Sarah Udoni (/Palatine)'s 7 blocks paced the Hawks, who totaled 8 in the match.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) (16) had one-third of the Hawks' 48 total digs.

MATCH 2-  Harper defeated South Suburban (25-15, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14)

The Hawks once again jumped ahead early in the first set against South Suburban, this time with a 7-1 lead.  The lead was extended to 17-6, 18-8, and 20-14 before the Hawks took the set with a 25-15 win.  Hot hitter Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) had another 3 kills while Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) and Karolina Sas (/Fremd) each had an ace.

Set two saw the Hawks' first close set of the day after being tied 3-3 and 5-5.  Harper was able to create leads of 11-9, 20-14, and 21-17 before some more late-set issues occured.  South Suburban was able to tie the set at 23-23 and 24-24.  The Hawks ended up dropping the set 24-26.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian)'s offense once again could not be stopped and finished the set with 11 kills.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 15 assists and 7 digs.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) (8), Karolina Sas (/Fremd) (6), and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) (5) all contributed to the team's dig total for the set.

The third set saw some more close play, with ties at 1-1 and 2-2 until the Hawks fell behind 3-6.  Harper would respond, however, tying the match at 7-7 and 8-8 before taking a 14-10 lead that they would not relinquish and finished the set with a 25-20 win.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) (16 assists) kept feeding Burzlaff's hot hand who had another 8 kills.  Huprich stuffed the stat sheet in the set, also totaling 5 digs and an ace.

After an early 2-2 tie in the fourth set, the Hawks broke loose going ahead 10-3 and 15-6.  After 5 consecutve swings for kills, the Hawks took a 21-9 lead.  The last kill of that string was Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian)'s 27th of the match, setting a new Harper College record that was held since Alex Mason set the previous record in 2009.  Harper would go on to win the set 25-14, winning the match.

Burzlaff's 27 kills were a match-high and the next closest Hawk was Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) with 7.  Harper totaled 59 kills in the match on 58 assists, 50 of which were from Emily Huprich (/Elgin).  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) led the Hawks with 25 digs in a match that saw the team finish with 91  Huprich (19 digs, 50 assists) and Burzlaff (27 kills, 14 digs) both finished with double-doubles.

The Hawks now move to 21-4 on the season and will travel to Joliet Junior College on Tuesday.