JOLIET, ILL. - Playing away from H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium for the first time in three weeks, the Madison College women's volleyball team earned a 2-2 record and a fourth-place finish at the Joliet Junior College Mizuno Invitational on Friday and Saturday, September 16-17. The WolfPack, ranked 12th in the latest NJCAA Division III Poll, picked up two wins on the opening day over Region 4 Division II opponents Highland Community College and Morton College to reach the tournament semifinals, however, dropped a pair of matches on Saturday against Lake Land College (IL) and Lansing Community College (MI). 

Match #1 (Friday): #12 Madison College 3, Highland Community College 1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 31-29)

The WolfPack struggled a little out of the gates, dropping the first set after only producing six total kills and hitting just .167. And while the attack percentage did not improve in the second set, the number of kills rose to nine and the blocking game came around to spark a second set win that set Madison College on course for a win in four sets. The final set win, however, did not come easily, as Highland Community College (5-8) took the Pack to extra points before Madison closed out the 31-29 decision. 

Madison College amassed ten kills and a match-high .348 efficiency in the third set, and followed with an impressive 20 kills and .320 percentage in the finale. The 20 kills is the most in a single set this season for the WolfPack, who also generated a 14-3 advantage in blocks as they matched their season-best effort.

Former Sun Prairie High School teammates turned college teammates Kendall Weisensel and Tyra Anderson both registered double-digit kills. Weisensel racked up 14 kills and a tied a career-best hitting efficiency at .333. The freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist also tied for team-high honors with eight digs. Anderson, a first year outside hitter, produced her eighth performance with ten or more kills as she finished with a dozen and hit at a .205 clip. Anderson also was tops with four aces.

Freshman Daryn Schaefer was the lone setter for the weekend, and tallied a career-high 44 assists in the match.

Defensively, the WolfPack dominated above the net with their 14 blocks. Freshman middle blocker MacKenzie Plunkett rejected a career-high five Cougar attacks, while fellow first years Gabby Hack and Sophia Venne added four blocks and three blocks, respectively.

Madison College has now won six of the last seven meetings, however, the Cougars still own the all-time series at 27-16-1.

Match #2 (Friday): #12 Madison College 3, Morton College 2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10)

The day's second match went back-and-forth as the teams traded set wins. Madison College took sets one and three, and then held off the Panthers (9-10) in set five for a 15-10 decision and match win despite not producing more than nine kills in a set the entire match. The WolfPack averaged 7.6 kills per set in the match and hit a .116 percentage overall. Morton College owned a 50-38 edge in total kills.

Again it was the tandem of Kendall Weisensel and Tyra Anderson doing most of the damage offensively. Weisensel set a new career-best with 15 kills as she reached double-figures for the second straight match and fifth time this season, while also establishing a new career-high with 51 attack attempts. Anderson wasn't far behind with ten kills. The duo also combined for five of the team's nine aces.

Schaefer, a freshman from Wisconsin Heights HS, had 34 assists, giving her 78 total for the day. She also added a pair of aces.

On the defensive side, ten of the team's dozen blocks were split by freshmen MacKenzie Plunkett and Gabby Hack, tying season-high's for both. Sophomore defensive specialist Aubrie Kappes had eight digs, followed by libero Katie Wagner and Weisensel added seven each.

Madison College is now 2-0 this season against the Panthers, after earning a 3-1 win in the home opener on August 24, which marked the first-ever meeting between the programs. The two teams are slated to play again on Saturday, October 1 at the Morton College Triangular.

Match #3 (Saturday): Lake Land College 3, #12 Madison College 0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-14)

The tournament's second day saw four team's left standing without a loss, but the day was a struggle offensively for the WolfPack, starting in the semifinals against NJCAA Division I Lake Land College (10-4). The tallied 28 kills, 12 of which came in the second set, and posted a .087 attack percentage in the day's opener against the Lakers. Madison College also had season-low totals for blocks (2) and aces (4).

Kendall Weisensel was tops with nine kills, while Tyra Anderson and Sophia Venne each registered seven kills. Venne, a native of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, hit at a team-leading .235 efficiency. 

Daryn Schaefer had 28 assists as the lone setter, and completed her seventh double-double with a team-leading 16 digs. Weisensel followed with 13 digs and narrowly missed her fourth double-double.

Saturday's match was the second-ever meeting with Lake Land College, after Madison College won a neutral site match in Palatine, Illinois, in 2015. The Lakers went on to win the JJC Mizuno Invitational.

Match #4 (Saturday): Lansing Community College 3, #12 Madison College 1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24)

Madison College finished the tournament playing in the third place match against Division II Lansing Community College (7-8), who had fallen to Harper College in the other semifinal. The first-ever meeting with the Stars was very competitive, with each team winning one of the first two sets. And after Lansing CC held on for the set three victory, the Pack forced the opposition into an extra point in the fourth before the Stars secured the match. Lansing Community College produced a 51-29 advantage in kills, while Madison College was one better in aces and produced two more points via blocks.

Madison College had 18 kills in the first three sets combined before hammering home 11 kills in the fourth, while the Stars had double-digit kills in each set. 

First year Tyra Anderson led the Pack with nine kills, while fellow freshman Sophia Venne was second with eight kills. Venne also had the top hitting percentage at .263.

Setter Daryn Schaefer tallied 29 assists. Anderson and Kendall Weisensel each served up three aces, while Schaefer and Katie Wagner both added two.

Gabby Hack, a 5'11" native of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, and 6'1" McFarland, Wisconsin, product MacKenzie Plunkett did their part defensively with four and three blocks, respectively. And second year defensive specialist Aubrie Kappes was the only player with double-digit digs as she finished with 11. 

Up Next:

The Madison College (12-7, 0-1) will make a second try for its first North Central Community College Conference win on Tuesday, September 20 with in-state rival Milwaukee Area Technical College (9-7, 1-0) invaded H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The WolfPack are riding an impressive streak of 37 consecutive match victories over the Stormers, and boast a 91-29-3 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1977. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. and can be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv.

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