Harper volleyball off to tough start
Coming off a deep run in the national tourniment, the Harper College women's volleball team had high expectations for the 2009 season. But it's been a tough road for the Hawks (9-5) so far, as they've seen their preseason No. 4 ranking vanish in the second week of the season. Harper has had more than its share of heartbreak, twice trailing by 1 at set point, and losing each time.
The Hawks are coming off of a week when they played four games, one of them being a loss to the No. 2 team in the country, Madison Area Technology, 24-28, 15-25, 23-25. What made the loss particularly difficult for the Hawks was that the outcome could have very well gone the Hawks' way.
"We are not good enough to overcome our mistakes. We are the best 9-5 team around," said Harper coach Bob Vilsoet.
This year's team only has two sophmores. One of those veterans is Elk Grove graduate Katie Spycala.
"She is comfortable hitting from both the back and front row. She is our leader," Vilsoet said.
"The ball will bounce more our way than what it has recently," Vilsoet went on to say.
And that's exactly what happened for Harper when the Hawks earned a 3-set sweep of South Suburban last Friday.
Another bright spot has been sophmore Megan Maize (Elk Grove), who currentley is on pace to set the Harper record for digs. And the play of Joann Strzeiec (Rolling Meadows) has also been a pleasant surprise.
"She's come a long way," Vilsoet said of the 6-foot-1 middle hitter. "She is a natural right-side hitter but plays middle (because of her size)."
On Saturday, Harper split a pair of tournament games, taking College of Lake County to the 5-game limit befor succumbing to the Lancers. Later Saturday, Lincoln Land took down the Hawks in 4 games.
The schedule isn't quite as busy this week, with Harper playing at rival COD Tuesday; on Saturday the Hawks will take a 2-hour bus ride go Oglesby, Ill., to play at the Illinois Valley Invite. The Hawks' first game will be at 11 a.m against Waubonsee Community College. Harper follows its first game with a matchup against John Logan, and perhaps another playoff matchup with either Elgin, IVCC or Joliet.
Women's soccer: Things have gotten off to a better start for the women's soccer team, which is 3-1. Harper played rival COD on Wednesday.
On Friday afternoon, the Hawks host the the No. 4-ranked team in the country, Rochester Community and Technical College, at 4 p.m.
The Yellowjackets defeated Harper 2-1 in the final in the Rochester Tournament last Friday. Becca Verilek (Rolling Meadows), Lisa Bermeister and Amanda Popincha are all flying high for the Hawks.
Hawks go pro: For the first time, two former Harper teammates took the same field as professionals at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Tampa. The only catch was that the two former Hawks took the opposite sideline.
Buccaneers starting linebacker Quincy Black (Harper '03) had 5 tackles, and Dallas Cowboys back-up linebacker Steve Octavien (Harper '03-'04,) saw action on special teams. Dallas won 34-21.
Black was a 2007 third-round selection of the Buccaneers.
The 68th pick overall, Octavien was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a non-drafted free agent in 2008. He signed with the Cowboys on Nov. 29, 2008 after being released from Kansas City's practice squad.
Winning ways: The Harper football team is coming off of a 14-8 win at Rock Valley (0-3) last Saturday. The Hawks host North Dakota School of Science on Saturday at Harper at 1 p.m. The Wildcats (1-2) are coming off of a 35-28 home loss to Grand Rapids.
"Offensively, we played well for two quarters," said Harper coach Eric Waldstein said of his team's Week 2 performance. "However, nobody has taken control of the starting quarterback job.
"I told them they are gonna split time until one of them shows me that this is my job," Waldstein said. "We are very excited about how the defense played.
Sophmore safety Tyrance Stuckey and freshman defensive lineman Chris Staten both played well for the Hawks. A total of 23 different players saw action on the defensieve side of the ball for Harper.
"Defensively they (North Dakota School of Science) run a three-man front and mix in a four-man front," Waldstein said.
Freshman running back Brian Miller is what coach Waldstein called "one of the best we will face this season."
Another weapon to watch for the Wildcats is freshman is 6-foot-1 kick returner and defensive back Deunta Jennings.
"They grow them big up there, those Minnesota and Dakota farm kids," Waldstein said of both the offensive and defensive lines.
The following week, the Hawks go back on the road to face Ellsworth (Iowa) College in the first of three straight games against teams from Iowa in the Midwest Football Conference.