CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 4 Parkland Cobras volleyball team cruised through its opening day of its three-day Parkland Tournament with a sweep of Vincennes (IN) and a four-set win over Rock Valley (IL) on Friday evening. Improving to 28-1 on the season, the Cobras have won 12 straight matches.

Vincennes Box Score | Rock Valley Box Score
 
Winning six of its seven sets on the day, the Cobras spread the ball around on offense with no one scoring double-digit kills in either victory. Freshman Ryleigh Warfel led the team with 17 kills on the day, while Parkland's blocking was led by Maddie Allen (15) and Shelby Nunamker (11). With 19 service aces stringing together big scoring runs, Brooke Norder was Parkland's top server with six aces between the two matches.
 
The Cobras opened its tournament with a straight-set win over Division I Vincennes (IN), winning the first two sets by nine (25-16) and the third set by 10 (25-15). Leading the Cobras to a .275 hitting percentage was freshman outside hitter Ryleigh Warfel with nine kills, five of which came at the end of the set two and start of set three, and 12 digs. Defensively, Maddie Allen stuffed Vincennes nine times to lead the Parkland block, while Brooke Norder contributed a team-high 18 digs and served up four of the team's nine aces.
 
Keying the first two sets were a pair of service runs, first from redshirt sophomore Anita Jenkins and then from Norder. In the first set, Jenkins served five straight points at the beginning of the set to give the Cobras an 11-4 advantage, which Vincennes could never cut down to less than five. In set two, Norder pelted the Vincennes defense with three aces in a 5-0 run to increase the Cobras' lead from 11-10 to 16-10.
 
Against Rock Valley, the Cobras outscored Rock Valley 75-24 in its three set victories, highlighted by a season-best 25-4 win to close out the match. As a team, the Cobras hit .291 in the win and put 16 blocks on the visitors.
 
Leading the victories were more serving runs. In set one, Norder served a 7-0 run that started a 15-3 run to close the match. After dropping set two, Parkland again used a spurt in the middle of the match to put away Rock Valley, ending the match on a 16-6 run. The dominant final set of the evening was started by Maddie Yocks who served a 12-0 run with four aces sprinkled in the fast start.
 
Individually, Warfel led the Cobras again with eight kills and Norder led the defense with 18 kills. After Allen was the top blocker in match one, sophomore Shelby Nunamker tallied eight in the night cap. Nunamker also contributed seven kills to go along with the blocks, tying Gabby Wessels (7) for second on the team.
 
The Cobras will be back on their home court tomorrow for day two of the tournament, hosting McHenry at 4 p.m. and No. 12 Muskegon at 6 p.m. central time.
 
 
Parkland Tournament Schedule:
 
Friday, September 21
Vincennes (IN): W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-15)
Rock Valley (IL): W, 3-1 (25-9, 21-25, 25-11, 25-4)
 
Saturday, September 22
4 p.m. – vs. McHenry (IL)
6 p.m. – vs. #12 Muskegon (MI)
 
Sunday, September 23
9 a.m. – vs. Owens (OH)
11 a.m.- vs. Rend Lake (IL)