CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Parkland volleyball won its 29^th and 30^th matches of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Donald Dodds Athletic Complex with a pair of sweeps, first over No. 12 Muskegon (25-13, 25-12, 25-22) and then a second against McHenry. Improving to 30-1 overall, 27 of the 30 Cobra wins have come in straight sets.
 
Leading the Cobras in the two victories was outside hitter Ryleigh Warfel and setter Rachel Verdun. The two Cobra freshmen each recorded double-doubles in the opening match against Muskegon, the 10^th for Warfel and the 11^th for Verdun. Freshman Gabby Wessels was second on the team in kills with 16 between the two matches, while Brooke Norder had 35 digs and Maddie Allen had six blocks to lead the defensive efforts.
 
No. 4 Parkland 3, No. 12 Muskegon 0
 
Parkland opened the second day as hosts with its second sweep of No. 12 Muskegon this season after first sweeping the Jayhawks on August 25 at the Waubonsee Invite. The win over the ranked opponent was the 10^th of the season for the Cobras. Offensively, the Cobras leaned on their outside hitters Warfel and Wessels for a combined 22 kills, while middle blocker Maddie Allen added in nine kills and six blocks, as the team hit a combined .343 against the 12^th-ranked opponent. Setting the attack was Rachel Verdun with 37 assists and 11 digs for her 11^th double-double of the season.
 
Freshman libero Brooke Norder got the Cobras off to a fast start in set one after Parkland scored the opening point with a 6-0 serving run highlighted by three kills and a block. From there, Muskegon never drew closer than six (8-2), as Parkland gradually added to its lead behind four kills from Warfel and three from Wessels.
 
After three kills in the first set, Wessels had her best set of the day with six kills in the second set, four coming in the first five points and her final kill ending the set. Following the opening surge from Wessels, the Cobras added another 5-0 run in the middle of the set to pull away, and then a 4-1 run to finish off the set.
 
The Jayhawks pushed the Cobras in set three, leading by as much as four (18-14), but Parkland responded with an 11-4 run to end the set and match. With Anita Jenkins and Rachel Verdun serving key points in the comeback, the Cobras earned six kills to put away the Jayhawks.
 
No. 4 Parkland 3, McHenry 0
 
A full-team effort in the second match of the day, 12 Cobras got in the kill column, as the team hit .378 for the match, and seven added in at least one block. Freshman Amanda Greening was the most efficient of the Parkland outside hitters with an errorless six kills on 10 swings, while middle blocker Dakota Harmon added three kills on just four attacks. Sophomore Maggie Sorensen led the back line with 17 digs in the match.
 
Playing back-to-back matches, the Cobras fell behind early in set one to McHenry, but stayed within striking distance with six kills from Warfel. After coming back to take a 17-14 lead, Verdun helped put the match away with tough serves to key a 6-0 run on the way to a 25-15 set win.
 
In set two, the Cobras used an 11-0 spurt to put away the set early. Tied 2-2, defensive specialist Maggie Sorensen served 11 straight points, including an ace. Maintaining a double-digit advantage, Jenkins also served a Cobra scoring streak with five start points to build the lead to 18-7. The Cobras wrapped up the set four more straight points to take the second set, 25-11.  
 
Parkland continued the route into the final set, going on an 11-2 run to begin the set, highlighted by a 5-0 serving run by Maranda Day. Two kills by Sidney Heck aided another run, 4-0, in the middle of the set before a pair of kills from Greening closed out the match.
 
With four wins over the first two days of the weekend, the Cobras will close out the tournament with two matches on Sunday morning. At 9 a.m., Parkland will face Owens (OH) and then Rend Lake (IL) at 11 a.m.
 
 
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
#12 Muskegon (MI): W, 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-22)
McHenry (IL) W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-12)
 
Sunday, September 23
9 a.m. – vs. Owens (OH)
11 a.m. – vs. Rend Lake (IL)