PALATINE, IL-  The #1 ranked Harper College volleyball team took down Division II, N4C opponent, Triton College in three sets on Tuesday.

After a long rally which featured great defense from both teams, the Hawks were up early 4-3.  Harper was then able to extend the lead to 11-4 before Triton called a time-out to try and slow the Harper offense.  The stoppage in play could not prevent the Hawks, as they went ahead 19-7 before finishing the first set with a 25-10 win.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) led the offense with 5 kills, while Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 4 and a block.  Marielle Lugo (/Hoffman Estates) rounded out the offensive attack with 3 kills.  Sophomore setter Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 11 assists and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) played strong defense with 9 digs.  Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) and Burzlaff were a combined 17-17 serving with 2 aces.

Harper took their strong first set play into the beginning of the second set and were ahead 6-1 and 12-4 before the Trojans called another time-out.  Once again, Harper was not phased and scored 12 of the next 14 points to go ahead 24-6.  Triton did the best they could to delay the inevitable in the set, but the Hawks won 25-9.  Udoni repeated her stat line from the first set while freshman Carley Chiodo (/Hersey) joined in with 3 kills and a block.  Huprich kept rolling with 12 assists for yet another double-digit performance.  Mackenzie Bush (/Bartlett) was 6-6 serving with 2 aces and Angelina Nichols (/Christian Liberty Academy) was 4-4 with an ace of her own.  Burzlaff and Nichols also had 4 digs each.

Set three once again saw Harper start the set hot, this time 9-2 before yet another Triton time-out.  To nobody's surprise, the Hawks turned it up after the time-out and extended the lead to 16-4.  Triton would make a comeback, but ultimately come up short Harper took the third set 25-18, finishing the match with their 12th three-set sweep of the season.  The defense stayed strong again with Chelini totaling 7 digs and Nichols adding another 5 to her stat sheet.  Carley Chiodo (/Hersey) stayed hot from the second set with another 2 kills and a block while Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) led the team again with 4 kills.

Harper's defense has been locked in recently, totaling 55 digs and 7 blocks as a team.  Of the team's 40 kills, the Hawks had 34 assists.  Halfway through conference play, the Hawks have a record of 6-0 and 19-3 overal.  Next up, the Hawks will host the McHenry County College Scots on Thursday at Robert Morris at 6pm.