Heartland volleyball had a busy week last week, as the Hawks welcomed rival Parkland College to the FRC on Wednesday before hosting the seven team Heartland Invite on Friday and Saturday. The Hawks were impressive in their 5-0 week, as they pulled out a thriller over Parkland before displaying a clean sweep of the Heartland Invite to move to 16-2 overall on the season. Heartland is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest NJCAA DII rankings.
 
Game 1 vs. Parkland
Rivalry matchups across all sports always add a little more juice to the game action, and the same could be said about Heartland's thrilling 3-2 victory over NJCAA DII No. 5-ranked Parkland College Wednesday at the FRC. The Hawks and Cobras traded sets throughout the match before a late rally in set five ignited the Hawks to a win. The loss for Parkland marks its first region loss since 2011.
 
Heartland opened the contest with a close 25-21 victory in set one before the Cobras responded with wins in sets two (25-18) and three (25-23). The Hawks would win set four, 25-20, and were in danger of falling in set five before a timeout midway through the set by head coach Mary Frahm jump-started her squad into comeback mode. After Heartland tied the set 9-9, it was a back-and-forth affair before an Emily Boyette ace sealed a 15-13 set win to give the Hawks the victory.
 
Boyette finished with four aces, while Gracie Sanderson had 10 kills. Kennedy Conrad led the way with 29 digs. Olivia Pippin added nine kills, 18 assists and 13 digs for the Hawks.
 
Game 2 vs. Rock Valley
Heartland returned home for the Heartland Invite on Friday, with Rock Valley College serving as the Hawks' first foe of the tournament Friday afternoon. The Hawks opened with a close 25-22 win in set one before taking set two 25-19, and set three 25-17.
 
Sanderson and Emma Harper each had seven kills for the Hawks, with Conrad supplying 21 digs. Julianne Kielion added 16 assists.
 
Game 3 vs. St. Francis (JV)
In the nightcap on Friday, the Hawks cruised to a three-set victory over St. Francis University (JV). Multiple Hawks contributed in the win, with Sanderson leading the way with 15 kills. Conrad once again had 21 digs, while Kielion led the assist category with 23.
 
Game 4 vs. John A. Logan
In likely Heartland's toughest match of the weekend, the Hawks would ultimately finish with a sweep of John A. Logan once again. The Hawks took set one 25-18 before winning sets two and three by a score of 25-20. Conrad supplied 20 digs for the Hawks. Cece Carr paced the kill category with seven, while Kielion finished with 11 assists.
 
Game 5 vs. North Iowa Area
North Iowa Area was the foe for the Hawks' final match of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, as the Hawks completed the perfect sweep of the tournament with a 3-0 win. Kielion contributed 18 assists for the Hawks, while Conrad added 21 digs. Sanderson supplied eight kills.
 
Heartland returns to action at 6 pm Wednesday at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, Ill. for a Midwest Athletic Conference tilt.