CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 1 Parkland volleyball defeated No. 8 Illinois Central in straight sets – 25-19, 25-16, 25-16 – behind an 18-kill, 13-dig performance by sophomore outside hitter Ryleigh Warfel. Improving to 35-1 on the season, and 5-1 against ranked opponents, the Cobras hit .300 as a team in route to the top-10 victory.
 
One kill shy of her season-high of 19 kills, a four-set performance, Warfel racked up 18 kills and 13 digs in just three sets on Wednesday night for her eighth double-double in 2019. Despite facing a top-10 team, Warfel posted a blistering .586 hitting percentage with just one attack error on 29 swings.
 
Guided by 39 assists by setters Summerlyn Smith (21 assists) and Rachel Verdun (18 assists), Abigail Burnett (eight kills), Paige Yoder (six kills) and Amanda Greening (six kills) added in 20 more kills to bolster the offensive attack.
 
Defensively, Parkland dug out 65 attacks by the Cougars, led by Gabby Wessels' 18 digs as the sophomore filled in at libero to lead the team. At the net, Parkland stuffed Illinois Central nine times, led by five blocks from Hannah Benson.
 
Up next, the top-ranked Cobras will carry their 18-match winning streak into Boone, Iowa for a four-match weekend. Highlighting the weekend will be back-to-back top-five showdowns with defending national champion No. 2 Coffeyville and No. 5 Highland.