PALATINE, IL- The #1 ranked Harper College women's volleyball team traveled to Benton Harbor, Michigan on Saturday for matches against DII Lake Michigan College and Glen Oaks College.  Harper returned home winning both matches.

MATCH 1:  Harper defeated DII Lake Michigan College (25-9, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22)

Harper started their first set of the tri-match strong, finding themselves ahead quickly 9-1.  The Hawks then extended the lead to 12-2 after Breanna Cullen had two sensational digs in both corners of the court.  Harper kept rolling, going ahead 19-6 and then took the set 25-9.  Cullen had 4 kills in the set to lead the team while Emily Huprich had 10 assists.  Ariana Chelini was 7-7 serving with 3 aces and Karolina Sas had 5 digs.

The second set was close from the start, seeing ties of 1-1 and 4-4 before Harper was able to gain some breathing room for a 9-5 lead.  The score stayed close at 11-7 and 12-8 before the Hawks hit their stride and led 21-11.  The Lakers mounted a comeback but Harper was able to hold on for a 25-20 victory.  Cullen had another 5 digs, while she and Sarah Udoni co-led the Hawks with 3 kills each.  Chelini was strong all-around yet again with 7 digs and another ace.

Set three looked familiar to the second, as the set was tied early before Harper was able to take leads of 7-5 and 9-7.  The Hawks looked well on their way to a 3-set sweep, seeing themselves ahead 19-11.  However, the Lakers would again refuse to go down easily and tied the set at 22 all.  The teams would be tied at 23 before Lake Michigan got the final two points, downing Harper in the third set 23-25. Ellie Burzlaff led the Hawks' attack with 4 kills, while Chelini had another 7 digs while Sas had 4 more to go along with an ace.  Emily Huprich was 9-9 serving with an ace.

The fourth set was another neck and neck competition, with both teams refusing to let the other extend leads as the set saw ties at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 before Gabby Fugle had enough and served the Hawks to a 10-6 lead.  However, it just would seem right if Lake Michigan did not come back so the set saw four more ties at 10-10, 15-15, 16-15, and 18-18 until Fugle once again gave the Hawks a lead at 21-18.  Yet again, the Lakers came back to keep it close at 22-21 but the Hawks would not let it get any closer and finished the match with a 25-22 win.  Burzlaff and Udoni co-led Harper with 4 kills while Cullen and Marielle Lugo each had 3.  Emil Huprich had 15 assists and tie-breaker Gabby Fugle was 7-7 serving.

After finishing with 20 aces in their previous match, the Hawks followed it up with 11 more.  The team finished with 49 kills on 47 assists while the defense totaled 71 digs.  Breanna Cullen (12 kills, 11 digs) finished the match with a double-double.  "A very interesting match.  Harper started out winning masterfully, but Lake Michigan kept getting stronger and stronger in the match," said head coach Bob Vilsoet.

MATCH 2:  Harper defeated DII Glen Oaks College (25-13, 17-25, 25-10, 25-14)

Set one of the second match started the same way the previous two had, with both teams tied at 5 all before Harper finally created space at 12-7.  Glen Oaks called a timeout as five of Harper's 12 points up to this point were blocked attacks.  The Hawks stayed strong after the break, extending the lead to 20-11 before finishing off the set at 25-13.  Ellie Burzlaff once again led the hawks with 6 kills and Emily Huprich had 12 assists.  Ariana Chelini kept things rolling with 5 digs and 8-9 serving.

In the second set, the Hawks fell behind early 1-2 and 6-7 and could not close the gap the rest of the way.  Harper was behind 11-16 and 15-22 before falling by a score of 17-25.  Burzlaff stayed hot with another 5 kills while Mackenzie Bush (/Bartlett) had 4.  Emily Huprich had 11 assists and Chelini had another 9 digs.

Set three once again saw a tie, this time at 2-2 before Ariana Chelini added to her great day with 10 strong serves to put the Hawks ahead 11-2.  The Hawks would not let the Vikings get close again, seeing leads of 15-6, 18-8, and 24-8 before finishing off the set 25-14.  Chelini went 13 of 14 serving in the set with 4 aces.  Burzlaff once again led the Hawks with 6 kills.

In set four, Emily Huprich did her best Ariana Chelini impression and served the Hawks to an early 6-2 lead.  Harper would keep their four-point lead at 8-4 and 15-11 before going ahead 21-12 and 22-13.  Harper then finished off the set, and the match, with a 25-14 win.  Ellie Burzlaff and Breanna Cullen each had 4 kills while Huprich had 6 digs.

Ellie Burzlaff finished with a match high 21 kills while the team totaled 48.  Ariana Chelini had 32 serves in the match -- 3 off the Harper College record of 35.  Harper had 3 players total double-digit digs with Chelini (20), Huprich (15), and Karolina Sas (13) all contributing.  Huprich finished the match with a double-double, totaling 39 assists to go along with her 15 digs.

The Hawks are now 18-3 (5-0 N4C) on the season.  Harper will travel to Triton on Tuesday to take on the Trojans in an N4C matchup, scheduled to begin at 6pm.