PALATINE, IL-  The #1 ranked Harper College women's volleyball team defeated fellow N4C and top-10 ranked opponent College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on Tuesday.

The first set of the match was one that the Hawks are looking to forget as they fell behind early on the way to a 15-25 loss.  In the set, Harper totaled 10 hitting errors as a team.  The beginning of the second set found the Hawks in another hole early, down 1-6, and then 1-13 before a time-out was taken.  The stoppage in play seemed to be what Harper needed as they started to mount a comeback, bringing the score to 9-16, 12-16, and 17-23 before tying the match at 24 apiece.  The set would remain tied 25-25 until the Chapparals ended up finishing if off by a score of 25-27.  Hitting errors proved costly yet again as the Hawks had another 11 in the set.  Bright spots were Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) (13 digs) and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) (9 digs, 9-9 serving, ace).

Finding themselves down 0-2 in a match is something that Harper had not seen all season long.  Head coach Bob Vilsoet made some lineup changes, citing versatility as a main component to the roster.  These changes proved vital in the third set as the Hawks played to a 4-4 tie before pulling away 10-6, 12-6, and 21-14 before taking the third set by a score of 25-14.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) and Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 4 kills each in the set.  Harper took the momentum from set three into the fourth set and jumped ahead early 3-1 before DuPage came back to tie the set at 4.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) then took control, as 7 consecutive strong serves found the Hawks on top 10-4.  They were able to extend the lead to 16-10 and 21-12 before COD took a time-out.  Once again, the stoppage in play helped the Hawks as they took set four 25-14, forcing a deciding fifth set.  Chelini finished with 11 digs in the set while Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) had 5 of her own.

In the decisive set up to 15, Harper took an early lead and found themselves ahead 8-2 as the teams switched sides.  The Hawks would remain on top for the remainder of the set seeing leads of 9-4 and 11-5 before finishing the match with a 15-7 win.  Fifth set veteran Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) led Harper with 3 kills while Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) had 6 digs.  Angelina Nichols (/Christian Liberty Academy) was 3-3 serving with an ace.

Emily Huprich (/Elgin) finished the match with a double double (14 digs, 38 assists) and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) joined the 30-dig club finishing with 33 digs overall.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) (12 kills), Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) (8 kills), Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) (8 kills), and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) (6 kills) led the way for the Hawks on offense.  Cullen also finished with 22 digs of her own.

Said Vilsoet, "COD played a very strong match.  They are certainly earning their #6 in the nation ranking.  They did some things we didn't expect, or handle very well.  Gabby Fugle (/Wauconda) came into the match with energy and helped out a lot with some strong hitting and blocking.  Sets 3, 4, and 5; we played better and made some adjustments that worked out - fortunately for us."

With the win, the Hawks moved their winning streak up to 8 before their next contest Thursday against Rock Valley.  The match will begin at 6pm at Robert Morris University in Arlington Heights.