ELGIN, ILL. - The Jeff "J.T." Thomas era of Madison College women's volleyball began with a resounding three-set sweep of Elgin Community College on Thursday. Behind a ridiculous .632 hitting efficiency in the first set, the WolfPack, who start the season ranked #8 in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll, earned wins of 25-15, 25-11, 25-15 to open their season with a win for the third consecutive year.

Sophomore Paige Hostetler led Madison College with 17 kills, including kills in four of the first six points of the match as the 'Pack raced out to a 10-2 lead. A 7-0 run pushed the lead to 20-10 before an Elgin service error ended the first set.

The second set started in much the same fashion with the WolfPack assuming 12 of the first 14 points scored. After second year Olivia Darkow tallied back-to-back aces to begin the set, and the ensuing run included a pair of kills from new middle blocker Tianna Sackett. The set ended with Madison College taking six of the last eight points, the final tally again coming by service error.

Looking to close out the fourth sweep of Elgin in five all-time meetings, the 'Pack found themselves with their closest set of the match owning just a 15-12 lead more than midway through. A 10-3 closing push with three kills from Hostetler sealed the deal on the season's first victory.

For the match the WolfPack posted a .320 hitting efficiency with 35 kills on 75 attempts, eclipsing the 14 kills on 74 attempts for a .000 percentage by the Spartans (0-1). Madison College also owned a 7-3 edge in aces, a 4-1 advantage in blocks, and a 46-28 lead in digs. 

Darkow, a setter from West Bend, Wisconsin, registered 30 of the team's 34 assists to establish a new career best in that category. She also led the team with four aces

Hostetler, a former Bay Port HS athlete, needed just 26 attack attempts to reach her kills total, hitting .577. Sackett, who played soccer and basketball at Madison College in 2017-18, also reached double-digit kills with 11 and hit at a .474 clip. The 5'7" native of West Salem, Wisconsin, was tops defensively with 11 digs for her first career double-double. Hostetler was second with nine.

Up Next:

Madison College (1-0) is back in action less than one day later as the WolfPack open the Waubonsee Community College Invitational on Friday, August 24 with a top ten matchup against Sauk Valley Community College, ranked #10 in the NJCAA Division II Poll. That match begins at 10:00 a.m. and will be followed by a 3:15 p.m. contest against Oakton Community College. Day two competition on Saturday will feature matches against Des Moines Area Community College at 10:00 a.m. and Owen Community College (OH) at 2:15 p.m. All four weekend opponents are NJCAA Division II programs.

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