MADISON, WISC. - Friday's Madison College Quad inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium featured three ranked teams and a combined winning percentage of about .800 for the three teams involved, and to no one's surprise, the day featured some very high-level volleyball within Region 4 play. The WolfPack, ranked #25 in the NJCAA Division II Poll, opened with a 3-1 loss to #11-ranked Sauk Valley Community College to snap an eight-match win streak against Region 4 opponents. The recovered to earn a 3-0 sweep over Carl Sandburg College. The day's matches also saw the Skyhawks and Chargers take down #24 Milwaukee Area Technical College in three and four sets, respectively.

Match #1: #11 Sauk Valley Community College 3, #25 Madison College 1 (26-24, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22)

In a matchup of nationally-ranked teams, the host WolfPack took an early 7-3 lead on a four-point run that included two Faith Radecke aces. The lead held until Sauk Valley Community College (25-4) tied the set at 11-11; however, Madison College responded with another 4-0 surge to regain a 16-12 edge on an Amber Horn kill. Still ahead 19-16, the advantage disappeared with a seven-point swing in favor of SVCC. The WolfPack did not fold as they used an ace by Horn and back-to-back kills from Courtney Gorum to make it even at 23-23. After fighting off one set point, the Pack ultimately gave up back-to-back point to fall in extra points.

Set two was a back-and-forth start until Sauk Valley turned a narrow 13-12 lead into a 20-12 advantage with seven consecutive points. Madison College closed to within four before the Skyhawks assumed a two-sets-to-none lead. 

The WolfPack raced out to a 12-4 lead in the third set, forcing SVCC to call a timeout. They continued to dominate the set en route to a 17-6 lead until freshman Kate Howe forced the fourth set with a kill to make it 25-17.

Sauk Valley Community College took the first upper hand in the fourth set with a 9-1 run to take a 14-6 lead. The Pack slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually made it a one-point set at 18-17 before the visitors took the match win in four sets.

Madison College amassed 45 kills and hit .167 for the match, including 15 kills and a .324 efficiency in the third set.

Sophomores Gorum and Addyson McHugh tied for the team lead with 15 kills each, with both hitting better than .150 in the match. Both players also tallied a double-double with Gorum sharing the team lead in digs with 15 and McHugh collecting 11 digs. 

Second year setter Brooke Anderson continues to improve her game and set a new career-best for the second straight match, posting 40 assists as part of a double-double with ten digs.

Horn led the serving game with four of the team's nine aces, while freshman MaKayla Weisner had four of the team's eight blocks. Libero Cora Webster tracked down 15 digs as part of a 60-dig effort by the Pack.

The Skyhawks lead the all-time series by a 21-6-1 account.

Match #2: #25 Madison College 3, Carl Sandburg College 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16)

The day's second match opened with a tightly contested first set that saw setter Brooke Anderson break an 18-18 tie with a solo block, resulting in Carl Sandburg College (28-7) using a timeout. Courtney Gorum followed with two consecutive kills to make it 21-18. After another Chargers TO at 23-20, Amber Horn served up an ace and Gorum terminated the set with her seventh kill. 

Another fast start by the home team was quickly erased as CSC put together a 5-0 surge to go ahead 8-6, and the set remained closed until Madison College owned a 18-17 lead. That's when Gorum took over, hammering three consecutive kills for a 21-17 advantage that eventually turned into a five-point set win.

Tied at 7-7 early in the third set, MaKayla Weisner's kill sparked a quick 4-0 run and eventually resulted in a 19-16 advantage. The rest of the set belonged to the WolfPack with two kills each from Horn and Gorum.

Gorum, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia, racked up 18 kills and hit an impressive .452 attack percentage. The 33 kills during Friday's matches put her career total at 687 and eight kills away from tying the all-time Madison College record of 695, held by Paige Hostetler (2017-18). Gorum also earned her ninth double-double of the season with 14 digs, and led the team with three blocks.

Addyson McHugh picked up her second straight double-double and third of the season with ten kills and 14 digs. Brooke Anderson reached 38 assists, to go along with a couple of kills, two blocks, and an ace. 

Cora Webster finished with ten digs and a career-best four aces. 

Overall, the WolfPack had 40 kills with a .292 hitting efficiency, nine aces, and 50 digs. Their nine blocks tie for a season-high in a three-set match.

The Chargers still own a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head series.



Up Next:

Madison College (14-9) hits the road on Tuesday, October 15 for a Region 4 showdown with #18-ranked Moraine Valley Community College (17-5). The Cyclones own a 4-1 lead in the all-time series. First serve in Palos Hills, Illinois, is set for 6:00 p.m. and can be live streamed here.

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