PALATINE, IL- The #1 ranked Harper College volleyball team traveled to Springfield over the weekend to partake in the Lincoln Land Invitational and finished 3-1 during the two-day tournament.

MATCH 1:  Harper defeated DII St. Louis CC (27-25, 25-16, 25-11)

Harper got things started Friday evening at 6:30pm and showed no signs of jet lag as they began the first set with a 3-0 lead.  After extending the lead to 8-3, the Hawks stayed in control to make the score 20-17 before STLCC showed some signs of life.  Late set mishaps have been all too familiar for the Hawks lately and they fell behind 22-24.  However, this time Harper was able to hold on and won the first set 27-25, the last two points being on aces from Breanna Cullen.  In addition to her late serving heroics, Cullen finished with 5 digs, second on the team to Ariana Chelini's 8.  Ellie Burzlaff led the team with 5 kills and Gabby Fugle was second with 3.  Emily Huprich finished with 13 assists and Angelina Nichols (/Christian Liberty Academy) was 5-5 serving.

Things started a little shaky in the second set as the Hawks were behind early 0-3 before battling back to tie the set at 3-3 and 4-4.  However, the Archers once again took a lead at 4-8 until the Hawks were able to tie the set again at 9-9.  Ellie Burzlaff then had six consecutive service points to go ahead 15-9, and Harper was able to finish the set 25-16.  Sarah Udoni led the Hawks with 3 kills while Karolina Sas and Ariana Chelini chipped in on the defensive end with 4 digs each.  Emily Huprich was 7-7 serving and had 2 aces.
 
The Hawks stayed hot in the third set and went ahead early 5-1 before Breanna Cullen (/Oregon)'s serves brought the score to 10-1 in favor of the Hawks.  More strong serving, this time from Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian), made the score 22-6 on the way to a 25-11 set three win, ending the match in straight sets.  Burzlaff kept the hot swinging going, this time leading the team with 8 kills.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 12 assists while Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) (6 digs), Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) (5 digs), and Cullen (4 digs) all contributed on the defensive end.
 
MATCH 2:  Harper defeated #8 Columbus State (23-25, 25-17, 25-11, 25-15)
 
Emily Huprich (/Elgin) serving to start the first set gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead.  Harper would hold that 7 point advantage when the score was 14-7 but Columbus State would not go down quietly.  The Cougars brought the score to 21-17 when another late set collapse buried the Hawks and lost the first set 23-25.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) led the Hawks with 10 digs and the serving duo of Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) and Huprich went 15-16 with 3 aces.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) had 4 kills while Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) finished with 3 of her own.
 
The second set began with ties at 2-2 and 3-3 before Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South)'s hot serving hand put the Hawks ahead 14-3.  After seeing scores of 19-9 and 20-12, the Cougars would once again mount a comeback to 20-15, but the Hawks would hold on this time to take the set 25-17.  In addition to her serving, Chelini added another 9 digs to her stat sheet.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 11 assists, while Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) once again led the team with 6 kills.
 
Harper kept control of the third set, going ahead early 5-2 and 8-5 before extending the lead to 19-8 on the way to a 25-11 victory.  The defensive trio of Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) Chelini, and Huprich contributed 6 digs each.  Cullen also had 3 kills to go along with 5-6 serving.  Chelini stayed strong on the serving end with another ace.
 
After falling behind in the fourth set 0-3, the Hawks were able to come back and tie it at 4-4 and 5-5 before streaking their way to a 10-5 lead.  Harper stayed in control after that and ended the match with a 25-15 set four win.  Burzlaff kept her left arm strong and finished with another 8 kills.  In addition to her 13 assists, Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 3 kills of her own.  Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) added 5 digs and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) was 8-8 serving, plus another ace to give her 4 for the match.
 
MATCH 3:  Harper defeated DI John A Logan (25-9, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22)
 
Despite a quick turnaround for Saturday's noon match, the Hawks were able to get ahead early 4-2 and 9-3 against the Lady Vols.  Harper would be in no danger of losing the first set and won by a score of 25-9.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) was not thrown off from the downtime and stayed hot with another ace on 10-10 serving.  Chelini and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) co-led the Hawks with 5 digs and Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 12 assists.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) had 6 kills and Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 3.
 
Harper stayed in control into set two, going ahead 6-2 and 10-5.  After extending the lead, the Lady Vols called time-outs on two separate occasions but neither seemed to harm the Hawks as they won the second set 25-18.  Burzlaff once again led the Hawks in kills and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) added 7 more digs to her total.  Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) was 6-7 serving with an ace.
 
According to the scoreboard, the Hawks were down early 1-6 until a couple rallies and a scoring correction made it 5-5.  After three more ties, the Hawks were down 11-17 and lost the third set 19-25.  Burzlaff and Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) led the Hawks with 4 kills while Chelini and Cullen chipped in 7 digs each.
 
After falling behind early again, the Hawks were able to battle back for five ties between points 8 and 15 until Breanna Cullen (/Oregon)'s serves brought the score to 21-15.  Harper would hold on the rest of the way and finish the match with a 25-22 fourth set victory.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) led Harper again with an additional 8 kills while Udoni added 4 and Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) had 3.  Lugo and Udoni each had a block on the defensive end and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) had 10 digs.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had another 16 assists.
 
MATCH 4:  Harper lost to DII #6 Illinois Central (21-25, 19-25, 26-28)
 
In what is believed to be the two teams' first meeting ever, the first set saw eleven ties early until the Hawks fell behind 19-22.  With a 21-22 score, the Hawks blasted their 11^th unforced error and fell in set one 21-25.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) had 7 kills and Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 4 plus 2 blocks.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) had 9 digs while Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) had 5 each.
 
Harper found themselves in an early 1-5 deficit and were unable to climb back throughout on the way to a 19-25 loss.  The Hawks had another 12 errors in the second set.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 13 assists while Burzlaff and Udoni led the team with 5 kills.  Gabby Fugle (/Wauconda) had an ace, the only one for the Hawks in the entire match.
 
Set three was a lot like the first, with ten more ties throughout.  After the Hawks had a 12-10 lead, ICC called a time-out and responded quickly, tying the set at 12 points each.  The set was tied at 26 each when the Hawks bent to a 26-28 loss in a set that saw yet another 12 hitting errors.  Huprich was strong on both sides of the ball, totaling 14 assists and 10 digs in the set.  Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) had 9 digs, Karolina Sas (/Fremd) had 8, and Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) had 6.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) once again led the team with 9 more kills.
 
Lincoln Land Invitational All-Tournament Team:
 
Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) was named to the All-Tournament team after four great matches over the weekend.  She finished with 15 kills against St. Louis, 23 against Columbus State, 24 against John A Logan, and 21 against Illinois Central.
 
Head coach Bob Vilsoet was proud of the team's weekend saying, "Harper College had a fantastic weekend, going 3 wins and 1 loss, defeating a very skilled and pumped Columbus State team that was ranked #8 in D3; defeating D1 John A Logan, and D2 St. Louis; but alas, could not get past D2 #6 ranked Illinois College.  The team played truly spectacular volleyball this weekend.  I was as proud as I've ever been to be a part of Harper Hawks volleyball' the way that we played hard, battled, and executed."