Harper College defeated Milwaukee 25-22, 25-20, 25-20

At Harper College on October 6, 2022

Palatine, IL:  In a very important N4C Conference match, Harper College is hosting Milwaukee in a rematch. After winning 31 matches in a row against Milwaukee, Harper Volleyball stumbled earlier this year and tonight was the rematch.  Tonight, Harper welcomes back 3 starters that did not play last time against Milwaukee – Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.), Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) and Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>). 

Harper Volleyball jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set.  But a resilient Milwaukee team tied the score at 7-7.  Harper took another lead at 12-9, but that same resilient Milwaukee team tied the score again at 12-12, 13-13 and again at 18-18.  Harper took a crucial slim lead 20-18, then 23-19 for a 25-22 win. Sometimes there is only a sliver between winning and losing. Harper is now ahead 1-0 in the match.  According to Alyssa's stats, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) had 9 kills in this first set!  Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) added 4 as well.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) had 13 assists.  There were a lot of digs in this set…  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) had 7 of them, Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) had 7 digs, and Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) had 8 digs.  Abby Greenberg was 5-5 serving.

After early ties at 2-2 and 3-3, Harper jumped out again to a 9-6 lead.  That same resilient Milwaukee team wasn't satisfied to tie the score at 9-9, so Milwaukee continued on a 6-point spree to take a 9-12 lead.  This time a resilient Harper team tied the score at 14-14 and 15-15, before taking a 19-15 lead on the way to a 25-20 win.  In this set, Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) added 6 more kills.  Katie Hofmann (Des Plaines/Elk Grove H.S.) was 5-5 with 4 kills.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) had 10 assists.  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) had another 7 digs in this set.  Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect/Resurrection H.S>) and Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) each had 5 digs.  Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) was 5-5 serving with an ace.

Harper finally zoned in during the third set, taking leads of 8-4, 10-5, 14-7 and 20-12.  Milwaukee made its last run to 22-18, but Harper held on to win the set 25-20, and the match 3-0.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) added 5 more kills on 10 attacks for a match-high and tied her career high with 20 kills.  Both of Tess O'Gara's (Chicago/Resurrection H.S.) attacks went for kills.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) had 13 more assists for a very healthy 36 assists for the match.  Jocelyn continued her terrific evening with 9 more digs for a match-high 23.  Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.) was 8-8 serving with 2 aces and 14-14 with 3 aces for the night.  Abbie Greenberg (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) added 4-4 serving for a 13-13 serving night with an ace.  Gabby Elbrecht (Owings, MD/Northern H.S.) did the same thing, 4-4 serving with an ace in this set and 15-15 serving and an ace for the night.

Coach Bob Vilsoet singled out both Jocelyn Mercado (Schaumburg/Schaumburg H.S.) and Natalia Smiech (Sleepy Hollow/Dundee-Crown H.S.)… "Libero Jocelyn showed us how to play with heart tonight!  She was all over the place with serving (9-9 with an ace), tons of service receptions, and 23 digs.  As for Natalia… same – terrific serving (14-14 with 3 aces), serve receiving, a career-high 20 kills, and 14 digs of her own!"