Box Score

Palatine, IL:  This was a special night – it was Sophomore night at Harper Volleyball. Harper College is saying good bye to 7 very talented sophomore volleyball players!  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.), Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.), Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.), Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.), Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.), Cassie Schweikle (Lombard/Glenbard East H.S.) and Anna Kvistad (/Homeschooled).  Coach Bob Vilsoet said, "This is one of two of my favorite nights;  one is the Alumni match when everyone comes back to play against the current team, and the other night is tonight, although bittersweet, this is when we honor our Sophomores who will be graduating away from the volleyball team this year."  
 
In the first set, Harper fell behind 2-5 early, and struggled to close the gap all the way up to 12-15, when North Park JV was able to extend the lead to 12-18 and then to a 21-25 Harper Volleyball loss.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) dished out 10 assists with 4 kills from Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) and 4 from Abby Greenberg.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) was busy in the back row with 11 digs!  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) was a perfect 5-5 serving.

In the second set, after revamping the lineup, this turned into a very exciting match. There were ties at 5-5, 8-8, 12-12, and 15-15 before Harper took a 19-15 lead.  North Park fought back to 21-17 and then a tie game at 21-21. Harper scored 2 points to lead 23-21, and 24-22 and fortunately held on to win 25-23.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) added 4 more kills.  Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) and Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) each added 3 more kills.  Gabby Albrecht had 12 assists.  Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.), back at libero had an amazing dozen digs.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) got loose for 9-9 serving with 3 aces.

In the third set, there were even more ties in this hard-fought match…  2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 9-9, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, 15-15… Harper earned another slim 19-16 lead, but North Park called timeout and quickly knotted the match at 21-21 again…  Harper fell behind 22-24, but Asia Williams (Hoffman Estates/Conant H.S.) served the last 4 points in a row to win 26-24.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) had 5 kills this time, but also 5 hitting errors.  Fortunately, Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) also had 4 kills.  Stacy Maimur (Wheeling/Stevenson H.S.) added a crowd pleasing bomb that was dug, and another bomb into the corner, plus a block.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) had 12 assists.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) had 10 digs total – many on some long rallies.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) and Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) each had 6 digs.  Asia Williams (Hoffman Estates/Conant H.S.) was 5-5 serving, including earning the last 4 points in a row in this closely fought set.

In the final set, Harper started out with a 5-2 lead this time, and continued to play well and extended the lead to 9-3, 16-4 and 19-7 before winning 25-8.  Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) put on a show in the middle with 5 kills and a block.  Stacy Maimur (Wheeling/Stevenson H.S.) added 3 more blocks.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) was 6-6 serving including an Acd.  Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) was 5-5 serving with 2 aces.

There were 2 notable statistical items – Both Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) and Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) each had a statistical double-double, today!  That's been rare, this year!

Coach Bob Vilsoet noted, "This was a fun match, and we really appreciated all the support not only from the families and friends of the players but also from the Harper Mens sports teams that were represented – baseball, basketball, soccer, track and Cross Country. We appreciated the loud crowd and support!"

KILLS:  Stacy Maimur (Wheeling/Stevenson H.S.) 8 of 9 (2 Kills), Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 31 of 36 (11 Kills), Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 7 of 7 (2 Kills), Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 28 of 31 (15 Kills), Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) 17 of 19 (5 Kills), Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 1 of 1 (0 Kills), Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 41 of 49 (16 Kills), Tess O'Gara (Chicago/Resurrection H.S.) 2 of 2 (0 Kills), TOTALS 135 of 154 (51 Kills).

SERVING:  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 5 of 5 (0 Aces), Asia Williams (Hoffman Estates/Conant H.S.) 11 of 12 (1 Aces), Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 12 of 12 (0 Aces), Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 16 of 17 (3 Aces), Cana Jones (Walton, IN/Lewis Cass H.S.) 6 of 6 (2 Aces), Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) 13 of 13 (0 Aces), Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 14 of 16 (3 Aces), Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 13 of 14 (1 Aces), TOTALS 90 of 95 (10 Aces).

BLOCKING:  Stacy Maimur (Wheeling/Stevenson H.S.) 1.5 Blocks, Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 1 Blocks, Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 3 Blocks, Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) 2.5 Blocks, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 1 Blocks, TOTALS 9 Blocks.

DIGS:  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 4 Digs, Anna Kvistad (/Homeschooled) 3 Digs, Asia Williams (Hoffman Estates/Conant H.S.) 3 Digs, Stacy Maimur (Wheeling/Stevenson H.S.) 2 Digs, Cassie Schweikle (Lombard/Glenbard East H.S.) 4 Digs, Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 10 Digs, Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 8 Digs, Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 3 Digs, Cana Jones (Walton, IN/Lewis Cass H.S.) 4 Digs, Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) 9 Digs, Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 23 Digs, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 25 Digs, Tess O'Gara (Chicago/Resurrection H.S.) 1 Digs, TOTALS 99 Digs.

ASSISTS:  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 42 Assists, Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 3 Assists, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 2 Assists, TOTALS 47 Assists.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE:  Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.)  11 Kills, 10 Digs, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.)  16 Kills, 25 Digs