PALATINE, ILL. - An opportunity for the Madison College women's volleyball team to pull even with Harper College atop the North Central Community College Conference standings ended with a 3-1 road loss Tuesday. The Hawks won the match with set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, and 25-23 to take a two-game lead in the chase for the league title, while also sweeping the regular season series for the third time in the last four years. Losses by the WolfPack in 11 of the last 13 meetings has given Harper College a 19-17 edge in the all-time series.

Madison College struggled offensively to start, posting two more hitting errors and kills in the opening set for a -.050 attack percentage. The visitors continued to get better from there with 11 kills in the second set and a match-best .160 efficiency in their third set victory. The 'Pack pounded out a match-high dozen kills in the fourth set as they pushed Harper College (14-12, 7-0) to the brink of a decisive fifth set. The Hawks owned a 46-39 advantage in kills, as well as an 8-5 lead in aces. Both teams had nine blocks, while the visitors were one better in the digs category.

Freshman Sidni Walgurski was a force at the net with 11 kills on a .261 attack percentage, while also matching a career-high with five blocks. The double-digit kills total is the third of the season for the middle blocker from Green Bay, Wisconsin. The WolfPack also received eight kills from sophomores Samantha Kessenich and Olivia Marron, while Cathleen Flannery registered seven kills.

The freshman trio of Lena La Fleur, Kaleia Lawrence, and Skyler Salter evenly split the setter role. La Fleur led the way with 11 assists, followed by ten from Lawrence and nine by Salter. A Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, native, La Fleur now boasts ten matches with double-digit assists. Lawrence, from Escanaba, Michigan, owns seven such performances.

Four different players reached double-figures in digs, led by freshman and former Fall River High School athlete Jaidyn Lange with a career-best 19. Flannery also set a new season-high as the transfer from NCAA Division III Alverno College tallied 18 digs, while freshman Amelia Walton had 12 and Marron 11. The team's 89 total digs is also a season-high.

Up Next:

Madison College (10-14, 5-2) is back at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium on Thursday, October 3 to square off with the College of DuPage (5-21, 3-4) in a N4C match. The WolfPack escaped with a five-set win on the Chaparrals home floor on September 4. A win Thursday would give the 'Pack a regular season series sweep for the eighth time in nine years after splitting in 2018. Madison College owns a 29-7 edge in the head-to-head series. First serve is at 6:00 p.m.

All home Madison College volleyball matches can be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv.

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