PALOS HILLS, ILL. - Madison College sophomore
Courtney Gorum rewrote the women's volleyball record books on Tuesday night, becoming the program's all-time leader in kills. The milestone moment came during the second set of a 3-0 loss by the
#25-ranked WolfPack against #19 Moraine Valley Community College as they fell 29-27, 25-14, 26-24 in a tightly contested Region 4 showdown. The Cyclones now own a 5-1 lead in the all-time series.
Gorum, a 6'3" outside hitter/middle blocker, converted a
Brooke Anderson set to tie the second set at 9-9 and also pull even with Paige Hostetler ('18) with 695 career kills. Following an attack error by Gorum to put MVCC up by two, the Chesapeake, Virginia, native, ripped a shot off the Cyclones block and down for kill number all-time kill number 696.
The match itself saw two teams trading blows throughout the night. Madison College jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, with freshman
MaKayla Weisner coming through on two kills. The lead peaked at seven after an
Amber Horn block and a Cyclones attack error pushed the differential to 20-13. Moraine Valley Community College (18-5) earned nine of the next 11 points to tie the set at 22-22. A successful setter dump from Anderson made it 23-22; however, she followed with a service error to tie the score once again. The WolfPack staved off set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but then failed to come through on successive set points in their favor at 26-25 and 27-26. Three consecutive kills for MVCC ended the first set in dramatic fashion as the teams played into extra points.
The WolfPack again held the lead for the early portions of the second set until the Cyclones tied the score at 8-8. Following Gorum's pair of history making kills, MVCC went on a quick 4-0 run to break an 11-11 tie. With the differential at 20-14 after a Horn kill, the Pack surrendered five consecutive points, including three straight aces to close the set.
With their backs against the wall in the third set, Madison College came out swinging and built another 10-5 thanks to a pair of
Addyson McHugh aces. The advantage grew to 15-9 before the Cyclones rattled off a 9-2 surge to take an 18-17 lead. The WolfPack appeared in good shape to force a fourth set when back-to-back kills from Gorum gave the visitors set point at 24-21. Unfortunately, errors by the Pack handed Moraine Valley Community College the next five points and the match.
Gorum, a transfer from UW-Madison and former Madison College assistant coach, finished with a team-high 16 kills and a .278 attack percentage. She also had 11 digs for her third consecutive double-double, to go along with two aces and a block. She becomes the first player in school history to surpass 700 kills, as she currently stands at 703 for her career. She also boasts a 3.97 kills per set average and a .313 efficiency over the two seasons. Hostetler's
record was 79 kills better than the previous record-holder, and Gorum, who has at least eight matches remaining this season, could potentially put the record out of reach.
McHugh, a fellow sophomore from Spring Grove, Minnesota, racked up 11 kills with a .231 hitting percentage, nine digs, and two aces.
Anderson, who also plays softball for the WolfPack, produced 34 assists for her fifth match in a row with 30 or more helpers. The former River Valley HS athlete also had two kills, one ace, one block, and five digs.
Freshman libero
Cora Webster matched Gorum for the team lead with 11 digs.
The WolfPack finished with 42 kills, 16 attack errors, and a .250 hitting percentage. Moraine Valley had 38 kills, 13 errors, and hit at a .245 clip. The Cyclones owned a 12-6 edge in aces and a 6-5 advantage in blocks, while also coming through with 67 digs compared to 54 by the Pack.
Up Next:
Madison College (14-10) will play two more Region 4 matches on Friday, October 18 at the Rock Valley College Triangular. They will open play at 1:00 p.m. against the host Golden Eagles (22-10). The WolfPack is 29-46-1 and have lost ten of the last 13 against RVC, who is currently ranked #18 in the
NJCAA Division II Poll. The day's second match is slated for 3:00 p.m. against the College of DuPage (16-12), against whom the Pack is 31-13 all-time. The matches can be live streamed
here.
Follow WolfPack volleyball: Facebook |
Twitter |
Instagram
