PALATINE, IL-  The #1 ranked Harper College volleyball team fell in straight sets to DII #15 McHenry County College Scots on Thursday.

The beginning of the first set was a glimpse for what was yet to come for the remainder of the match as there were ties at 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 7-7.  The Hawks then fell behind 7-10 before head coach Bob Vilsoet called a time-out.  Harper responded well after the break in action, tying the set at 12 and then took off for a 17-12 lead behind strong serving from Breanna Cullen (/Oregon).  The Hawks stayed strong, extending leads to 22-14 and 24-18 before chaos ensued.  The Scots were able to take advantage of service and hitting errors to tie the set at 24-24, 25-25, and 26-26.  Harper just could not find the finishing touch and lost the first set 26-28.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) had 5 kills while Mackenzie Bush (/Bartlett) and Cullen finished with 3 each.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) had 11 assists and Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) added 7 digs.  Cullen was also 8-8 serving with 3 aces.

Harper looked to put the first set heartbreak behind them as they jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the second set.  The Hawks kept up the pressure and extended the lead to 11-3 before the Scots once again chipped away to bring the score to 15-11 in the Hawks' favor.  However, McHenry would not quit and took the lead in one rotation and the Hawks found themselves down 15-18.  Harper would battle back, tying the set at 18-18 and then got back ahead 21-19 and 24-22.  The set-clinching point once again eluded the Hawks as the set would be tied at 25 before the Scots once again battled back and finished off the Hawks 25-27.  Another 7 hitting errors and a couple "questionable" ref calls put the Hawks in their first 0-2 hole in 2017.  Emily Huprich (/Elgin) once again tallied double-digit assists, finishing the set with 17 while also totaling 7 digs.  Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South) had 7 digs of her own and was also 9-9 serving with 2 aces.  Cullen led the Hawks with 5 kills while Sarah Udoni (/Palatine) had 3.

The third set started close but did not see the end game excitement from the previous two.  The set was tied 5-5 and 8-8 early but the Scots took control from then on.  Harper was down 18-22 before losing the third set 20-25.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) and Udoni led Harper with 3 kills each while libero Karolina Sas (/Fremd) had 8 digs.  Huprich had 9 assists and 7 digs.The three-set sweep was the first for the Hawks since September 25, 2015 against Kishwaukee Colllege.

Emily Huprich (/Elgin) finished the match with 16 digs and 37 assists to notch another double-double.  Ellie Burzlaff (/Harvest Christian) led the Hawks with 14 kills and Breanna Cullen (/Oregon) was second with 10.  Harper saw three players finish with double digit digs, lead by Ariana Chelini (/Crystal Lake South)'s 17.

Next up, the Hawks (19-4, 6-0 N4C) travel to Freeport, IL on Saturday to take part in the Highland Tri-Match.  Harper will face Highland Community College at 10am and South Suburban College at noon.