CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 2 Parkland volleyball won its second match of the day, a 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-12, 25-14) of Lincoln Trail, to win its 18^th straight match and improve to 34-1 on the season. The win over the Lady Statesmen concluded a nine-match homestand that saw the Cobras win 26 of the 27 sets played.
 
Hitting above .400 as a team in both matches today, the Cobras averaged a .403 success rate on their swings against Lincoln Trail to go along with 10 blocks and seven aces. Individually, Parkland had seven players reach three or more kills, led by six from outside hitters Ryleigh Warfel and Amanda Greening. Rachel Verdun and Ashley King split setter duties, tallying 16 and 17 assists, respectively, while the 10 team blocks were boosted by Dakota Harmon (4), Abigail Burnett (3) and Greening (3).
 
Parkland's offense got going early with 19 kills accounting for nearly three-fourths of the team's points, led by a handful from middle blocker Maddie Allen. Verdun got Allen involved early, quick-setting her for three kills to help build a 9-4 advantage. After The Lady Statesmen closed the gap to 10-9, outside hitter Gabby Wessels retaliated with two kills as part of a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 16-9. Keeping Lincoln Trail at arms-length, the Cobras finished off the set with five straight kills, two apiece from Wessels and Allen, to finish off the 13-point victory.
 
Freshman outside hitter Amanda Greening got the Cobras going in the second set, scoring two kills early, as the team build a 6-4 advantage. With Miranda Day back to serve, the freshman defensive specialist served up a 5-0 run to put the Cobras in control, highlighted by three aces for Day. Maintaining the six-point advantage, freshman Maddie Yocks again gave the Lady Statesmen's defense trouble from the service line, serving them out of system for multiple receiving and attack errors as part of a 7-0 run. Lincoln Trail briefly battled back, taking three of the next five points, but the Cobras responded by winning three of the next five points to win the set, 25-12, capped by a block from sophomore Sidney Heck and freshman Hannah Benson.
 
The two teams traded points again to begin the third set, but a pair of Cobras blocks and a trio of kills from Sidney Heck grabbed the momentum for the home team. Tied 6-6, setter Ashley King and middle blocker Hannah Benson teamed up to put the roof on a Lincoln Trail swing, giving the Cobras a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After Benson and Abigail Burnett teamed for another block, Heck ran off three kills in five points to wrap-up a 9-1 run. Parkland continued to build its lead, four times reaching a 10-point advantage, before scoring the final point of the match to win by its biggest margin, 25-14.
 
Earlier in the day, setter Rachel Verdun led the Cobras with 21 assists, five kills, four blocks and five digs in a straight set sweep (25-8, 25-16, 25-19) of Frontier.
 
Up next, Parkland volleyball will carry its 18-match winning streak into the Des Moines Area Community College tournament next weekend, October 5-6. Playing four matches, two on Friday and two on Saturday, the Cobras will face three ranked opponents.