MADISON, WISC. - Competing at the NJCAA Division II level for the first time in program history, the Madison College women's volleyball team reached the Region 4 finals for the first time six years after going 1-1 over the weekend in the 2023 NJCAA Region 4 Division II Midwest District B Tournament, held inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The #2-seeded WolfPack defeated #7-seeded Milwaukee Area Technical College 3-1 in Saturday's semifinals, before falling 3-0 to #3-seeded Rock Valley College in the championship match on Sunday. Madison College ends the season with a 23-10 record after making their ninth appearance in a Region 4 finals.

4B Semifinal Match (Saturday): #2 Madison College 3, #7 Milwaukee Area Technical College 1 (25-15, 25-15, 18-25, 25-12)

The semifinal round brought a rematch of a road sweep just 11 days prior as Madison College squared off with long-time rival MATC-Milwaukee. Following a trio of short 3-0 runs, the WolfPack began to pull away in the opening set with a five-point outburst to take a 13-8 lead and force a timeout. The Pack went on to claim 12 of the final 17 points that included a three Courtney Gorum kills and finished with another Weisensel ace.

A pair of Tyra Anderson kills sandwiched around a Courtney Gorum ace started the second set and put Madison College ahead 7-2. The differential slowly grew Addyson McHugh got hot with three kills over eight points en route to a second straight ten-point set win. 

The third set belonged to the Stormers (20-15) with three straight points to open and an early 7-2 lead. A four-point run midway through opened the gap to 17-9 before Madison College rallied to within 18-16. Following a MATC-Milwaukee timeout, the Stormers rattled off seven of the next nine points to force a fourth set.

The fourth was also a fairly one-sided affair as the WolfPack closed out the match thanks to a 5-0 start and a 6-0 surge to reach a 13-3 differential. Gorum posted five kills and a block as the home team reached a 13-point advantage on several occasions, and back-to-back kills by Hope Hesselberg and Gabby Hack sealed the 41st consecutive win in the head-to-head series that now stands at 95-29-3.



Madison College had 42 kills and a .164 attack percentage, with 6.0 blocks, and 39 digs. The Stormers produced an impressive 75 digs in making the Pack earn every point.

Gorum, a first year from Chesapeake, Virginia, tallied 17 kills and 14 digs to lead the team in both categories, while also earning her ninth double-double of the season. The 6'3" middle blocker and right side hitter hit at a .424 clip. with two aces and a block. McHugh and Anderson tied for second in kills with eight each.

Freshman Hope Hesselberg racked up 24 assists, followed by Daryn Schaefer with 16 helpers. Hesselberg, a native of Lodi, Wisconsin, also matched Weisensel for team honors with three aces as part of an 11 ace performance for the Pack, their 12th double-digit ace match of the season.

Defensively, Weisensel picked up ten digs, and Hack earned three blocks.

4B Championship Match (Sunday): #3 Rock Valley College 3, #2 Madison College 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-14)

The Region 4 Midwest District B was also the rubber match between Madison College and Rock Valley College, with each team earning a win over the other in a neutral site event during the regular season. Madison College owned the upper hand historically in head-to-head postseason matches with a 6-2 record that included three wins in five previous meetings with the region crown at stake.

The Golden Eagles struck first with four straight points to lead 4-1, however, Madison College answered right back and more with a 7-0 surge that started with an Amber Horn kill and included a Kendall Weisensel ace and five RVC attack errors. The advantage grew to six on three occasions, with Courtney Gorum and Addyson McHugh putting home kills. The set turned after the WolfPack went up 18-13 as Rock Valley College scored five consecutive to pull even. Sophomore Tyra Anderson hit a cross-court kill for a 19-18 lead, which would prove to be the final lead held in the match by Madison College as RVC eventually won the first set by five after claiming 11 of the last 13 points.



Rock Valley College earned the opening three points of the season set to take control, and used five-point run to turn a 13-10 differential into an eight point lead. Sophomore middle blocker and outside hitter Gabby Hack did her best to rally the Pack, posting five kills in the second set, which ended with a 25-19 win by RVC.

With the season on the line, Madison College again fell into an early hole with a 4-0 deficit to start the third set, but kills by freshmen Horn and Hope Hesselberg closed the gap to 5-4. The Golden Eagles responded with five points in a row to go up 10-4, and then used a four-point swing later in the set to take an 18-9 lead. Gorum powered three more kills in an effort to keep the fight going, however, the deficit was too large and RVC finished the sweep with an 11-point third-set win. Rock Valley College now leads the all-time series by a 46-29-1 margin with wins in ten of the last 13 get-togethers.

Madison College averaged 7.3 kills and 7.0 attack errors per set, and finished the match with an attack percentage of .010. The WolfPack amassed 9.0 blocks, one ace, and 37 digs.

Gorum led the Pack with seven kills, to go along with 2.5 blocks and seven digs. Hack, a Lake Mills, Wisconsin, native, matched a season-high with six kills and two blocks. 

Sophomore setter Daryn Schaefer added ten assists to her career total of 1,781 to finish second in program history. Hesselberg reached eight assists and eight digs.

On the defensive side, Horn was tops at the net with three blocks. Libero Kendall Weisensel trailed only Hesselberg with seven digs. The native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, delivered the team's only ace to finish with a school-record 147.

Following the match, Courtney Gorum and Addyson McHugh were selected to the Region 4 Midwest District B All-Tournament Team. 

NJCAA Region 4 Division II Men's & Women's Soccer and Women's Volleyball Tournament Site (Hosted by Madison College)



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