LLCC defeats Illinois Valley CC 25-15, 25-13, 24-26, 25-17
LLCC defeats #19Sauk Valley 25-16, 25-22, 25-20

GAME ONE:
LLCC started the Parkland Halloween Bash with a win over Illinois Valley Community College, a four-set victory that gave Coach Jim Dietz his 500th win as a college coach.  "That's nice and I knew the next one was #500, but it just means I'm old and have been around a long time," he laughed afterwards.  The Loggers dominated the first two sets.  In the first, Kate Volk and Ashley Melton paired up for two blocks in opening a 21-11 lead and combined with an ace from Mary Hill that trickled over the net, propelled LLCC to a 25-15 win.  In the second set, Volk and Melton were at it again with the block giving the Loggers an early lead 3-1, but that disappeared behind four straight errors by LLCC though LLCC changed course quickly behind two Molly Ashbaugh aces and two kills by Kennedy Bauer. to open a 14-10 that widened further with two Ashley Melton aces with LLCC holding on to win 25-13.  The third set saw both teams make runs of errors.  LLCC's second run gave IVCC a 21-17 lead, but the Loggers tied it at 22 after four straight errors by the opponent, but unfortunately a Logger hitting error gave the opponent a 26-24 third-set win.  The fourth set saw Lincoln Land fall behind 7-2 with another run of unforced errors.  After a timeout, LLCC regrouped and was able to tie the set at 11 before breaking it open with kills from Annika Black and Kennedy Bauer to win 25-17.  "We can't have that fourth set again.  We ended five straight rotations with our service errors.  It'd be different if we were scoring three or four points before the errors, but that wasn't the case.  Once we started hitting serves, we outscored them 23-10," Dietz said.

GAME ONE STATS:
vs. IVCC
Digs: Bauer 16, Bates 12, Volk 12
Aces: Bauer 4, Ashbaugh 3
Blocks: Melton 4, Volk 4
Assists: Volk 43
Kills: Hill 14, Black 12

-  -  -  -
GAME TWO:
LLCC's second contest was against Sauk Valley, the rubber match between the two teams who split matches earlier in the season.  "It's always fun playing Jay [Howell, the Sauk Valley coach] and his girls.  They play hard and they've been getting better through the year," Dietz said before the game.  The contest was not as close as the previous two with LLCC winning in a sweep.  In the first set, after it reached 3-3, the Loggers opened a margin behind an ace by Molly Ashbaugh, a Kate Volk-Ashley Melton block, and a thundering kill by Sami Eaker.  The Loggers opened the margin to eight behind two Mary Hill aces and then another Ashbaugh ace her next time through the lineup before winning 25-16 on a Kennedy Bauer kill.  In the second set, Sauk aces put the Loggers in a 7-4 hole before Mary Hill's serving run brought the Loggers back to 10-10.  Kills from Annika Black gave the Loggers a three point lead at 18-15 and that margin held as Ashley Melton terminated point 25 for the win.  In the final set, the two teams traded blocks and kills to 5-5 when Ashley Melton put down two kills to make it 8-5 before LLCC gave up three errors and the score tied once again.  The Loggers were not to be denied as Mary Hill turned around with two quick kills and two more by Annika Black brought the score to 14-9.  Sauk Valley closed it to three at 21-18 but kills by Hill and Black ended the affair at 25-20.  "We played well, not perfect, but well.  We were more consistent with our serves and we got good serve-receive passes from Natalie [Bates[ and Taylor [Thomas] tonight as well as Kennedy Bauer who's really picked up her defense over the past two weeks."


GAME TWO STATS:
vs. Sauk
Digs: Bates 16, Bauer 14, Thomas 14, Volk 14
Aces: Ashbaugh 4, Hill 3
Blocks: Eaker 2, Hill 2
Assists: Volk 35
Kills: Bauer 12, Black 11

**Mary Hill's 70th ace ties her for the 5th highest single-season total in school history.
**Kate Volk passed Kate Ehrlich (2007-08) for 5th in single-season assists with 1,251

Record: 28-14
NEXT: SAT 11am vs. McHenry CC