SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - Second-ranked Parkland women's volleyball went undefeated in its opening day of the 2018 season, winning all four of its matches on the first day of the Waubonsee Invitational, including three in straight sets. Parkland defeated Kishwaukee (3-1), St. Claire (3-0), Muskegon (3-0) and Henry Ford (3-0) in the four matches with a combined .282 hitting percentage and 34 total blocks. 

Kishwaukee (IL) Box Score | St. Claire (MI) Box Score | Muskegon (MI) Box Score | Henry Ford (MI) Box Score

In total, seven Cobras reached double figure kills, led by 34 (.352 hitting percentage) from freshman Ryleigh Warfel, including four with 20 or more. Sophomore setter Ashley King paced the Parkland attack with 40 assists over the course of two matches, while freshman Ellie Stone recorded a team-high 53 digs in three matches. 

Gabby Wessels sparked Parkland's first victory of the day, a 3-1 (25-12, 25-27, 25-15, 25-14) win over Kishwaukee (IL), as the Cissna Park, Illinois, freshman tallied 12 kills in the four sets with an efficient .667 (12-18) hitting percentage. Wessels also poured in seven of the team's 19 service aces to lead the team with 20 points. Ashley King directed the offense with 22 assists, while Ellie Stone dug out 32 balls. Sophomore Shelby Nunamaker led the Cobra middles with six kills on 10 swings to go along with four blocks. 

Parkland earned its first of three sweeps on the day with a straight-set (25-8, 25-11, 25-22) victory over St. Claire (MI) on Saturday afternoon. Hitting over .400 in each of the first two sets, the Cobras were led by freshman Ryleigh Warfel who converted eight of her 11 swings with a .636 hitting percentage and 14 total points in the match. Nunamaker, again, proved efficient in her efforts as the middle blocker earned six kills on eight swings without an error while chipping in three blocks. Freshman  Rachel Verdun started at setter for Coach Hastings and earned her first double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs, while also tying Maddie Allen for the team-lead in blocks with three. 

The Cobras earned a third victory with another straight-set sweep (25-21, 25-15, 25-16) of Muskegon (MI). Warfel and Wessels were again at the center of Parkland's onslaught, as the duo combined for 27 kills on 58 swings, while only committing eight errors. Additionally, both Warfel and Wessels tallied a double-double in the match, as Warfel earned 16 digs and Wessels added 14 of her own. Defensively, the Parkland block stuffed  nine swings from Muskegon, as five different Cobras were credited with a block, led by five from Nunamaker. With 87 team digs in the three-set win, freshman Brooke Norder led five teammates in double-figure digs with 20. 

The undefeated opening day of the season was closed out with a third sweep (25-14, 25-8, 25-17) with three convincing sets against Henry Ford (MI). Highlighted by a dominating second set that saw the Cobras hit .464 (16-3-8), Parkland spread its 40 kills in the match across seven attackers, led by nine from both freshman Abagail Burnett and sophomore Sidney Heck. After tallying nine blocks in the match prior, Parkland added 12 more in its final match of the evening, including a team-high seven from Maddie Allen who also chipped in eight kills on just 14 attacks. 

Parkland volleyball will look to continue the success on the final day of the Waubonsee Invite on Sunday, August 26, with four more matches. The first match is scheduled for 9 a.m. central time, followed by matches at 10:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.