ROCKFORD, ILL. - The Madison College women's volleyball team raised many eyebrows at Friday and Saturday's Opening Weekend Tournament, hosted by McHenry County College. The WolfPack went 3-1 during the 67-team event, and finished with a three-match win streak that included a pair of wins over teams ranked in the NJCAA Division II Preseason Poll. Friday's action started early in the morning with a five-set setback to Des Moines Area Community College before ending with a 3-1 defeat of #11 Illinois Central College that featured a record-setting performance from freshman Courtney Gorum. On Saturday, the Pack opened with a sweep of North Central Michigan College and finished with another 3-0 victory over #7 Iowa Central Community College. The matches also marked the first in team history as a NJCAA Division II program.

Match #1 (Friday): Des Moines Area Community College 3, Madison College 2 (25-12, 17-25, 25-9, 22-25, 15-9)

Madison College got the season and weekend off to a slow start as coach Mallory Dixon worked through numerous different rotations in an effort to find the right ones. After falling 25-12 in the opening set, the WolfPack was able to earn a 25-17 win in set two despite just six kills and a .038 attack percentage. The Bears dominated set three by a 25-9 margin before the Pack exploded with 17 kills in the fourth set to win 25-22 and force a decisive fifth, which DMACC closed out with a 15-9 decision.

Freshman Addyson McHugh led the offense with 14 kills in her collegiate debut, however, ten attack errors kept her hitting percentage to .087. The native of Spring Grove, Minnesota, also produced two aces and two blocks. Freshman Courtney Gorum, native of Chesapeake, Virginia, had ten kills and a .103 efficiency, to go along with 15 digs and three blocks for her first career double-double.

Sophomore Daryn Schaefer, an all-conference and all-region selection in 2022, tallied 31 assists, three blocks, and a service ace. Fellow second year Kendall Weisensel contributed 13 digs and an ace.

Madison College finished with 34 kills, a .030 attack percentage, seven aces, ten blocks, and 51 digs. DMACC leads the all-time series by a 7-2 tally with four consecutive victories.

Match #2 (Friday): Madison College 3, #11 Illinois Central College 1 (22-25, 34-32, 25-22, 25-22)

The WolfPack turned right around and rallied from a 1-0 deficit to claim the season's first win and an upset of the Cougars with a thrilling 22-25, 34-32, 25-22, 25-22. Madison College averaged 15.75 kills per set, highlighted by 19 in a 66-point second set. 

First year middle blocker/right side Courtney Gorum broke the program-record for kills in a match with 27 as she hit .373 on 59 attack attempts. The previous record of 25 had been set on three separate occasions over the past nine years. Gorum, a transfer from the University of Wisconsin, also had 19 digs and a pair of blocks en route to her second straight double-double. Two others joined Gorum with double-digit kills, as freshman Addyson McHugh tallied 13 and sophomore Tyra Anderson added ten. McHugh added 19 digs for her first career double-double.

Second year setter Daryn Schaefer nearly matched Gorum's feat with a career-best 59 assists, tying the Mazomanie, Wisconsin, native for the second most assists in a match in school history. Schaefer's statline also included six kills, four aces, and six digs.

Kendall Weisensel notched a career-high 25 digs and served up three aces in the first meeting between the two schools.

Match #3 (Saturday): Madison College 3, North Central Michigan College 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-12)

Day two featured a pair of sweeps for Madison College, starting with a resounding defeat of the Timberwolves in three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-16. 25-12. The Pack amassed double-figure kills in all three sets and finished with a season-best .388, attack percentage, while also registering eight aces.

Sophomore outside hitter/right side Tyra Anderson paced the offense with ten kills and career-high efficiency of .643. Six other players all registered a kill in the match. 

Daryn Schaefer had 21 assists, while Courtney Gorum paired five kills with a team-leading four aces and five digs.

It was the first match all-time against North Central Michigan College, which is in their second year as a program.

Match #4 (Saturday): Madison College 3, #7 Iowa Central Community College 0 (25-22, 25-20, 26-24)

The tournament finale pit the WolfPack against a top-ten ranked Tritons team that reached the NJCAA Division II National Tournament last year. Madison College was able to hold off ICCC in the first two sets with wins of 25-22 and 25-20, but needed to rally from a seven-point deficit in the third to claim a 26-24 victory for the sweep. The WolfPack finished with 39 kills, 18 of which came in the final set, and hit at a .346 clip. They also served up eight aces for the third consecutive match. 

Courtney Gorum hammered home 13 kills with a .310 percentage to edge Tyra Anderson's 12 kills at a .444 efficiency. Gorum also added three aces and a pair of blocks.

Daryn Schaefer dished out 37 assists and one ace, and second year middle blocker/outside hitter Gabby Hack was tops on the team with three blocks. Kendall Weisensel was the lone player with double-digit digs as she tracked down 14 of them.

The win evened the head-to-head series at 2-2.

Up Next:

Madison College (3-1) hosts the first of two Madison College Triangulars for their home opener on Wednesday, August 23 inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The WolfPack will open against Morton College (0-3) at 3:00 p.m. and finish with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Highland Community College (2-4). The Panthers and Cougars will play each other in the 5:00 p.m. match. Madison College won all three matches against Morton College in 2022 after having never played the Panthers, and trail 27-16-1 all-time against HCC despite wins in six of the last seven meetings. 

All three matches will be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv.

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