Box Score Joliet, IL:  What went well for Harper was 11 aces, in addition to passing and serving.  What didn't go well was Harper's hitting and blocking… Although Harper had 49 kills, there were also 30 hitting errors plus just 3.0 blocks.  Joliet had a more normal 18 hitting errors, and had 18 blocks!

In set 1, there were ties at 1-1, 2-2 and 5-5, before Harper fell behind 5-10.  After continuing to trail, Harper finally caught back up at 19-19 and 20-20, and even took a 22-20 lead.  However, Joliet scored the next 3 points in a row after a timeout, and went on to win 23-25 in a very pivotal first set.

In the second set, Harper was trailing most of the game at 6-7, 7-12, and 10-16 when Harper began to mount a comeback and tied the score finally at 21-21 and 22-22. This time, Harper took the 23-22 lead and won 25-23.

In the third set, there were ties as 3-3 and 4-4, when Joliet took a 4-7 lead on 2 uncontested tips.  Harper continued to fall behind 5-10 again in an uninspiring 14-25 loss.

In the last set, trailing 1-2 in sets, there were ties at 2-2, 4-4, and 5-5.  Harper fell behind a bit at 5-8… but caught back up at 14-14… Behind some extremely tough serving from Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S.), Harper took what seemed like a safe 19-14 lead.  At that point, the wheels fell off the cart for Harper…  One side out early in this rotation likely would have done it, but behind Harper's hitting errors, Joliet stormed back to 19-19 and took a 19-21 lead.  Harper fought back to 21-22 when the down judge made a MAJOR gaffe and called Harper for an overlap that was clearly not an overlap and refused to discuss it; so, instead of a potential 22-22 tie and Harper serving, Harper was down 21-23.  Harper hit yet another one of their 30 hitting errors for the match out of bounds; and then a net call at 21-25 ended Harper's year.  Harper lost the last 11 of 13 points and turned a 19-14 lead into a 21-25 loss. 

One would sure like to have seen a set 5, tonight!

Harper College was outblocked 18-3 in this match for a minus 15 point differential; and had 30 hitting errors to Joliet's 18 hitting errors… another minus 12 point differential.  Those two categories proved to be too much for Harper to overcome.
 

Coach Bob Vilsoet said, "This year's team certainly had enough talent to win the region and even the national championship.
 
"We were 4-0 at home in these Region IV matches… and 0-4 on the road… To turn this semi-final match into a HOME match would have meant defeating Milwaukee in Milwaukee, despite missing 4 starters;  Plus we only have had to reverse 3 points against Joliet in the two conference matches we played to win the ensuing tiebreaker.  Then we would have hosted this semi-final where Harper was 6-1 at home, as opposed to just 2-8 overall on the road.  There is such a fine line between winning and losing.

"It was a sad night especially for our Sophomores – this was their last match for Harper College. Natalia, Katie, Jocelyn, Alyssa, Gabby, and Cassie have all ridden the Harper Hawks bus for the last time – unless they come back to help coach!  It will be virtually impossible to replace them with incoming players… so this year's talented first year players will have to learn from this year and band together as a unit, want to win, and to get it done next year!"

"With Milwaukee and Madison moving from Division III to Division II, it is likely Harper, Joliet and College of DuPage will merge with another Region, and its path to the NJCAA National Championship tournament will be significantly different going forward.  In addition, next year, there will be 16 teams at Nationals, not just 12 – as there will be 4 at-large bids available. 

"We will see how the committee selects those 4 additional at large teams and if strength of schedule is still 'ignored' by the voters."

KILLS:  Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 26 of 33 (12 Kills), Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 5 of 5 (0 Kills), Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 21 of 30 (12 Kills), Cana Jones (Walton, IN/Lewis Cass H.S.) 1 of 1 (0 Kills), Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S.) 15 of 20 (9 Kills), Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 2 of 2 (0 Kills), Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 37 of 44 (14 Kills), Tess O'Gara (Chicago/Resurrection) 8 of 10 (2 Kills), TOTALS 115 of 145 (49 Kills, 30 hitting errors).

SERVING:  Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 12 of 12 (0 Aces), Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 8 of 9 (1 Aces), Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 11 of 13 (2 Aces), Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S.) 21 of 22 (5 Aces), Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 11 of 12 (1 Aces), Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 15 of 16 (2 Aces), TOTALS 78 of 84 (11 Aces).

BLOCKING:  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 0.5 Blocks, Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 0.5 Blocks, Tess O'Gara (Chicago/Resurrection) 2 Blocks, TOTALS 3 Blocks.

DIGS:  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 3 Digs, Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) 7 Digs, Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 9 Digs, Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) 8 Digs, Cana Jones (Walton, IN/Lewis Cass H.S.) 7 Digs, Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S.) 5 Digs, Alyssa Rodda (Inverness/Barrington H.S.) 21 Digs, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) 17 Digs, TOTALS 77 Digs.

ASSISTS:  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) 46 Assists, Cana Jones (Walton, IN/Lewis Cass H.S.) 1 Assists, TOTALS 47 Assists.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE:  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.)  14 Kills, 17 Digs