ROCKFORD, Ill. – No. 2 Parkland volleyball opened the 2019 season with four straight-set victories on Friday afternoon and evening, sweeping Des Moines Area (25-13, 25-8, 25-18), Kansas City Kansas (25-17, 25-12, 25-20), Rock Valley (25-7, 25-14, 25-12) and Kishwaukee (25-9, 25-9, 25-18).  
 
Winning by 11.9 points per set on the afternoon, the Cobras hit a dominant .371 on the day with more than 30 kills in all four sweeps. The Cobras also were stingy on defense, registering 30 blocks between with at least seven in all four matches.
 
Offensively, freshman Mallory Bergbower led the Cobras' attack with 26 kills on the day, sparked by 25 kills across the final two matches where she hit a blistering .477 (25-4-44). Fellow classmate Summerlyn Smith also had an impressive debut, as the freshman setter dished out 84 assists across four matches, including 59 in the final two matches. All-American outside hitter Ryleigh Warfel added 11 kills while All-American setter Rachel Verdun dished out 20 assists in two matches.
 
On defense, sophomore middle blocker Hannah Benson led the team in blocks with 15 stuffs in three matches, including seven against Des Moines Area. In the back row, All-American Brooke Norder and newcomer Isabella Classen held down Parkland's defense with 31 digs and 29 digs respectively.
 
Joining Berbower, Smith and Classen, three Cobras made their Parkland debuts on Friday as Paige Yoder, Kayla Brandon, Katie Kaiser. Yoder highlighted her day with eight kills on a .462 hitting percentage against Rock Valley, while Brandon added nine with a .529 clip against Kishwaukee and Kaiser stuffed five Rock Valley attacks.
 
The second-ranked Cobras return to the court on Saturday, August 24, for four more matches to wrap up the weekend. Parkland will play Lake Land at 10 a.m. with matches against Joliet (1:30 p.m.), Madison (3:15 p.m.) and Oakton (5 p.m.) to follow.