MADISON, WISC. - In what could have easily been a trap match ahead of the biggest match of the season next week, the Madison College volleyball team stayed focused in a resounding three-set sweep of in-state rival Milwaukee Area Technical College on Thursday inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The 25-11, 25-8, 25-8 defeat of the Stormers keeps the #2 WolfPack one game back of #1 Harper College in the North Central Community College Conference standings, with the two top-ranked teams in the latest NJCAA Division III Poll scheduled to square off in five days. Madison College also boosted its dominance over MATC-Milwaukee with their 32nd consecutive match win, a streak that also includes 56 straight set wins, in the final home match played by a five-member sophomore Class of 2017 that was honored prior to first serve.

A consistently aggressive offensive approach ended with the WolfPack posting a .437 attack percentage, their third highest efficiency mark in a match this season. With at least a dozen kills and three or fewer errors in each set, the 'Pack hit .500 in the opening set, followed by a .478 mark in the second, and a match low .346 in the closing third set. Madison College also took advantage of a struggling Stormers (2-14, 0-10) serve receive with 13 aces in the match, equaling their total from a three-set sweep over Milwaukee last month and falling one short of tying the season high for a match.

Sophomore Reagan Goupil paced the WolfPack attack for the first time in 2017, matching a season-high nine kills for the third time this season. The Mott Community College (MI) transfer hit .467 with just two hitting errors in 15 attempts. Goupil, a native of Flint, Michigan, also registered a career-best five aces. 



Freshman Paige Hostetler came off the bench to record eight kills , while another second year transfer, Lori Sanders, finished with seven assists and a .778 attack percentage, a season-high for the Portage, Wisconsin, native. 

Five other players also earned a kill in the match, helping sophomore setter Keely Brown amass 22 assists, her ninth match with at least 20 kills this season. Freshman Olivia Darkow posted ten assists.

Defensively, the WolfPack had just two blocks and 31 digs, with freshman defensive specialist Paige Alsum headlining the effort with five digs.

Up Next:
 
Madison College (20-5, 9-1) enters the final week of the regular season with a chance to pull even with the reigning NJCAA national champion Harper College (28-5, 10-0) atop the N4C standings when the nation's top two programs meet Tuesday, October 17. The Hawks have taken four straight and six of the last seven matches against the WolfPack, including a 3-1 decision in Madison last month. Madison College still owns a 16-13 lead in the all-time series. The match will mark the fifth consecutive time the team's have taken court in a #1 vs. #2 battle. First serve is at 6:00 p.m. at the Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois. (Harper College is currently renovating their home gym.)



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