CHAMPAIGN, ILL. - Facing an extremely loaded schedule of opponents at the Parkland College Tournament, the Madison College women's volleyball team went 1-3 and finished the weekend with an upset of the nation's fourth-ranked team. The WolfPack, ranked #14 in the NJCAA Division II Poll, began the tournament with a pair of 3-1 losses against #6 Kirkwood Community College (IA) and #10 Lincoln Land Community College (IL) on Friday. Saturday's slate began with a 3-0 loss against #20 Des Moines Area Community College (IA) before finished with a four-set win over #4 Heartland Community College (IL).

Match #1 (Friday): #6 Kirkwood Community College 3, #14 Madison College 1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-16, 25-18)

In the first-ever meeting with the Eagles, the WolfPack went point-for-point with the sixth-ranked team in the country for the first two sets. Kirkwood Community College (19-6) posted 15 kills and hit .282 in the opening set, however, the WolfPack answered back with 11 kills in the second set, which featured 11 attack errors by KCC. Kirkwood pulled away in the third set, hitting at a .500 attack percentage, and held off the Pack in the fourth to complete the win.

Madison College finished with 41 kills, 25 attack errors, and a .120 hitting efficiency, to go along with 11 blocks, four aces, and 56 digs.

Freshman Courtney Gorum was tops with a match-high 14 kills and a .188 percentage. She completed her fifth double-double of the season with a team-leading 15 digs, and also recorded five blocks.

Freshman Addyson McHugh posted 11 kills and hit at a .250 clip. Second year outside/righ side hitter Tyra Anderson had eight kills, but struggled with nine errors. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native did collect ten digs.

Daryn Schaefer, a sophomore setter, posted 36 assists and eight digs. Libero Kendall Weisensel tracked down 14 digs.

Match #2 (Friday): #10 Lincoln Land Community College 3, #14 Madison College 1 (25-23, 13-25, 28-26, 25-21)

Meeting for the second time in seven days, the WolfPack looked to avenge a three-set sweep at the hands of the Loggers during the Madison College Volleyball Tournament. A back-and-forth opening set went to LLCC, but Madison College responded with a resounding 12-point second set win. The critical third set mirrored the third set played a week prior in Madison, with extra points needed to determine a winner and Lincoln Land (19-6) coming out on top. The Loggers maintained the momentum with a victory in the fourth set. 

Madison College registered 38 kills, a .188 attack percentage, 11 aces, ten blocks, and 50 digs in the match. After being held to eight kills in each of the first two sets, the Pack went for 12 and ten in the final two sets, respectively.

Courtney Gorum, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia, led the charge with nearly half of the team's kills. She finished with 17 kills on 45 attack attempts and a .289 attack percentage. Gorum also racked up 13 digs for her second consecutive double-double.

Daryn Schaefer ignited the offense with 36 assists and a career-best six aces.

Defensively, freshman Amber Horn was tops with four blocks and sophomore Kendall Weisensel posted 16 digs.

Madison College is 0-4 all-time and 0-2 this season against the Loggers.

Match #3 (Saturday): #20 Des Moines Area Community College 3, #14 Madison College 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-19)

Madison College was unable to solve DMACC (17-6) in their second meeting of the season. The Bears, who won a five-setter top open the season at the McHenry CC Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, Illinois, edge the WolfPack in a hard-fought opening set. The momentum carried through to a pair of set wins in the second and third to complete the sweep. 

The WolfPack put up impressive offensive numbers in the first and third sets with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. They had 21 attack errors in the match. All together, the Pack tallied 34 kills with a .133 hitting efficiency, five aces, six blocks, and 36 digs.

Courtney Gorum put up 19 kills with nine attack errors on 40 attempts and finished with a .250 percentage. No other player had more than six kills.

Setters Daryn Schaefer and Hope Hesselberg had 23 and nine assists, respectively. 

Gabby Hack, a sophomore middle blocker and outside hitter from Lake Mills, Wisconsin, was tops defensively with three blocks. Libero Kendal Weisensel added nine digs and a team-high three aces.

Madison College is now 2-8 all-time against DMACC, with two losses this fall.

Match #4 (Saturday): #14 Madison College 3, #20 Heartland Community College 1 (25-22, 25-13, 25-19)

Madison College saved its best performance for last in an upset of the highest-ranked team they have played so far in 2023. The WolfPack pounded 15 kills and hit .308 to open the match, and after a rough second set, recovered to rack up 14 kills and a .323 efficiency in the third set. Playing with a two-sets-to-none led for the first time all weekend, the Pack pounced with 11 kills and hit .184 to close out the win over the Hawks (20-4). 

Freshman setter Hope Hesselberg, a native of Lodi, Wisconsin, posted a career-best 24 assists, two kills, and nine digs. Sophomore Daryn Schaefer added 21 assists.

Middle blocker and right side hitter Courtney Gorum was the primary recipient of those assists with 22 kills, marking her third match this fall with 20 or more kills. She finished with a .364 efficiency, one ace, one block, and eight digs. Freshman Addyson McHugh added nine kills, while sophomore Sophia Venne had seven kills and a team-leading .368 percentage.

Amber Horn, a first year player form New Glarus, Wisconsin, had four blocks, followed by three from Venne. 

Kendall Weisensel, a Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native, tallied 24 digs to fall one shy of her career-high.

The victory came in the first all-time meeting with Heartland Community College. The two teams are slated to play again on October 20 as part of the Madison College Quad.

Up Next:

Madison College (16-7) is back home for a pair of week night matches inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium, starting Tuesday, October 3 against Concordia University-Wisconsin JV. The WolfPack and Falcons have only played once before, with CUW earning a win back in 2001. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. and can be streamed live at MadisonCollege.TV.

The women's volleyball team will also be celebrating Staff & Teacher Appreciation Night.

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