KIRKWOOD, Iowa – No. 2 Parkland volleyball split a pair of matches at the Kirkwood Invitational on Friday afternoon and evening, falling to No. 10 Johnson County (24-26, 20-25, 25-17, 24-26), and then rebounding to beat Sauk Valley (25-15, 22-25, 25-14, 25-6). Only their first loss of the season, the Cobras conclude day one with a 17-1 overall record.
Dropping its first match of the season in the opening match of the weekend, Parkland dropped close sets in both the first and fourth sets, each by a score of 26-24, and was held to a .080 hitting percentage. The opening set win by Johnson County snapped the Cobras' 47-set winning streak.
Facing a ranked opponent for the eighth time this season, Parkland still holds an impressive 7-1 record in those contests.
Despite the loss, three Parkland starters recorded double-doubles against the Cavaliers. Freshmen
Ryleigh Warfel and
Gabby Wessels earned their seventh double-doubles of the season with both outside hitters reaching double figures in kills and digs. Warfel led the team with 13 kills to go along with 19 digs, while Wessels recorded 12 kills and 23 digs. Joining the two hitters in earning a double-double was setter
Rachel Verdun with 38 assists and 13 digs.
Defensively, Parkland again racked up double-digit blocks with 12, including five from freshman middle blocker
Dakota Harmon, and received a season-high 38 digs from
Brooke Norder.
Turning around less than an hour after its first defeat of the season, the Cobras bounced back to defeat Sauk Valley for the second time this season. After winning the opening set, Sauk Valley stole set two before Parkland won the final two sets going away to get back in the win column.
Sparking the win was dominant work from the Parkland block, tying its season high block total for the third time with 16 stuffs. Spearheading the block party was Harmon with a career best 14 blocks, including two solo stuffs, which surpassed her previous best of eight blocks against Oakland.
Similar to the Johnson County match, setter Verdun and outside hitter Warfel added their second double-double of the day. Verdun again directed the offense with 41 assists, and added in 10 digs, while also contributing to the attack with six kills on 12 swings. Warfel set a season-high 24 digs in the four-set victory and tallied 10 kills in the match, tied with Wessels for tops on the team. Redshirt sophomore Shelby Nunamker was Parkland's most efficient attacker in the win, hitting .500 with 7 kills on 12 attempts.
Up next, the second-ranked Cobras continue its rugged weekend with two more ranked foes on Saturday. At 9 a.m. central time, Parkland will face No. 15 Central (NE) before taking on No. 7 Highland (KS) at 1 p.m.
