Harper tops No. 1 Madison

Heading into a North Central Community College Conference women's volleyball showdown with top-ranked Madison Area Technical College, Harper had yet to capture a set, going 0-for-6.

But Thursday was a whole new day for the Hawks.

Harper, ranked seventh in the NJCAA poll, came away with a 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19 victory.

One way to account for the different outcome was Harper's state of mind for this meeting.

"We were ready," said Harper's Alyssia Dugo, who played a big role in the result.

The Hawks (25-7 overall, 7-3 N4C) extended their winning streak to seven.

"We are a better team than we were a couple of weeks ago," said Harper coach Bob Vilsoet, whose team has produced a 12-0 record on the tartan court of the Sports and Wellness Center.

In the first set, after a kill from Sarah Berggren (Barrington) cut the Wolfpack lead to 11-7, Hawks freshman Lauren Sokolowski gave her team a big lift, scoring 4 of the next 6 Hawks points as Harper grabbed a 15-13 lead.

The outside hitter spots on the floor shared by Sokolowski and Dugo (8 kills) helped set the tone.

"We don't normally go outside as much as we did today," Vilsoet said.

In the second set, Kim Butler (Palatine) and Danielle Sortino (Conant) played key roles with big blocking efforts.

"It was something we worked on," Vilsoet said of his team's ability to make good blocks.

"It was a defensive ambush," Wolfpack coach Toby Parker said of the Harper's defensive precision. "Two of our five attackers were ineffective because Harper was prepared."

In the middle of the set, the Wolfpack finally put together their biggest run of the night as they outscored the Hawks 9-2 to take an 11-9 lead. Butler showed off her offensive skills as well when she collected 2 of her 6 kills in the second set. The second one gave Harper a 21-16 lead.

Vilsoet praised Butler's improvement.

"She has come a long way," he said. "She's getting better with every game."

In the fourth set, Sokolowski (20 kills, 15 digs) made what could have been the play of the match. She put down a kill from the back row to make it 20-16.

Madison controlled the third set. The closest Harper came was a 7-7 tie; Dugo had 2 aces in the set.

But Harper was able to close out the effort with a strong showing in the fourth set.

Parker took a long-term view of the setback.

"Losing is acceptable," he said, "as long as you take something from it."

The two teams could meet again in the NJCAA Region IV tournament in a few weeks.

Harper understands it could face an angry pack the next time around, but for now the Hawks are pleased to have shown they belong among the elite.

"We wanted to prove that we could be competitive," said the Hawks' Lindsey Murphy.