ROCHESTER, MINN. - The Madison College women's volleyball team went 1-3 over four matches at the Toppers Pizza Volleyball Invitational hosted by Rochester Community & Technical College on Friday and Saturday. The WolfPack, ranked #7 in the NJCAA Division III Polls, lost for the second time this season to NJCAA Division II Des Moines Area Community College on to open play before dropping a four-set match against #2 Central Lakes College-Brainerd (MN). Day two began with the third consecutive loss for the 'Pack at the hands of NJCAA DII Bismark State College (ND), but ended with the weekend's lone win in three sets over NCAA Division III Bethel University (MN) JV.

Match #1: Des Moines Area Community College 3, #7 Madison College 0 (Friday, 11:00 a.m.)

Two weeks after losing to the Bears at the Waubonsee Community College Invitational, the WolfPack dropped a 25-8, 25-19, 26-24 contest to DMACC (7-1). Madison College is now 2-5 all-time in the series.

(Technical issues prevented the match from being fulled recorded for statistical purposes. We will update this portion of the story when the statistics have been corrected.)

Match #2: #2 Central Lakes College-Brainerd 3, #7 Madison College 1 (Friday, 3:00 p.m.)

Playing in their second matchup with a top ten team, the WolfPack was unable to stay with the Raiders in a 25-16, 16-25, 25-17, 25-15 setback. Madison College used an 11-1 run in the second set to pull away and pull the match even at a set apiece. Undefeated Central Lakes College (9-0) took control of the match from there, closing the third set with an 11-2 surge and turned a three-point differential into a ten-point victory by taking 12 of the last 17 points in the fourth and final set.

For the match, CLC posted eight more kills and one more block, while the 'Pack finished with two more aces.

Sophomore Paige Hostetler was the lone hitter in double-figures with 18 kills on 46 attempts for a .261 attack percentage. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native also led the team with four aces and three blocks. Tianna Sackett and Isabella Carrillo had five and four kills, respectively. Setter Olivia Darkow registered 26 assists, while Maddie Scalissi a season-high 18 digs.

The loss snaps a five-match win streak for the WolfPack against the Raiders, with the all-time series standing at 5-2 between the two perennial powers.

Match #3: Bismark State College 3, #7 Madison College 0 (Saturday, 9:00 a.m.)

After struggling through the first set, Madison College kept things close against the Mystics before taking a 25-11, 25-22, 25-23 loss. The third set saw the 'Pack rally from down 20-9 to within a point at 23-22. The WolfPack actually finished with more kills than Bismarck State (7-1) by a 34-28 margin, while BSC collected 17 more digs. 

Once again Paige Hostetler led the team in kills with 16 and hit at a .214 clip. First year front row player Tianna Sackett registered a .250 efficiency and eight kills, while Isabella Carrillo had six kills. Olivia Darkow, a setter from West Bend, Wisconsin, racked up 30 assists. Maddie Scalissi keyed the back row effort with nine digs.

Much like the loss to Central Lakes College, the setback to Bismarck (7-1) ended a four-match win streak in the head-to-head series, which now stands at 4-2.

Match #4: #7 Madison College 3, Bethel University JV 0 (Friday, 1:00 p.m.)

The weekend's final match brought the WolfPack's lone victory by a 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 tally. Madison College quadrupled the kill total for the Royals, 40-10, while also tripling the number of aces. As a team, the 'Pack finished with a .342 attack percentage, its highest efficiency mark of the season.

Hostetler reached 18 kills and hit .313, and former Maranatha Baptist Academy athlete Isabella Carrillo was second on the team with nine kills and a season-high .615 percentage. Tianna Sackett had seven kills. Olivia Darkow ended the match with 35 kills, pushing her over the 400-mark for the season.

The two programs have now split their only two meetings. 

Up Next:

Madison College (8-6, 2-0) will now return to North Central Community College Conference action with a home game Tuesday, September 11 against Triton College (1-4, 0-2). The WolfPack is 19-4 all-time against the Trojans, with all 19 wins coming consecutively. First serve at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium is at 6:00 p.m. 

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