MADISON, WISC. - The Madison College women's volleyball opened the home portion of their 2024 season with a pair of wins over in-state opponents during Wednesday's Madison College Triangular #1 inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The #21-ranked WolfPack opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of long-time foe Western Technical College, and then closed the evening with a 3-1 decision over Blackhawk Technical College, a new Region 4 program out of Janesville, Wisconsin, competing in its first season of NJCAA play. The Cavaliers did top the Talons in the day's second match by a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-13) final.

Match #1: #21 Madison College 3, Western Technical College 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18)

Madison College took control early against Western Tech (2-3), building leads of 8-3 and then 12-5. The Cavaliers took a timeout when the advantage stretched to 17-8, and following the breather, WolfPack freshman Bella Vitaioli used back-to-back aces to push the differential to 21-10. After winning set one by eight points, the Pack found themselves in a more competitive second set. An 8-3 run midway through put the home team ahead 20-12 thanks to an impressive service run by sophomore Faith Radecke. Despite a sizable 24-16 lead at set point, WTC forced Madison College into a late timeout as they closed within three. The final set saw the WolfPack slowly build their lead to 16-9 before a quick 4-0 burst by the Cavs. The rest of the set was sideout volleyball to close out the sweep.

Addyson McHugh, a second year outside and right side hitter, set a new career-high with 22 kills and hit .450 with just four errors in 40 total swings. Vitaioli registered her second double-digit kills performance of the season with 11 as she registered a .346 attack percentage. The former Janesville Craig HS athlete also had two aces and eight digs.

A trio of setters all finished with more than a dozen assists, led by Tricia Klum with 17. The Chaseburg, Wisconsin, native was followed by Brooke Anderson with 14 and Sammy Johnson with 13. 

MacKenzie Thom keyed the defensive effort with 13 digs, while Amber Horn added a pair of blocks.

The WolfPack amassed 45 kills and hit at a .219 clip. They also had six aces, five blocks, and 47 digs. Each of the first two sets saw the home team tally 17 kills, followed by 11 in the closing set.

Madison College is 59-40-9 after back-to-back wins over Western Tech. 

Match #2: #21 Madison College 3, Blackhawk Technical College 1 (25-4, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22)

The day's finale saw a dominating start by the host WolfPack, winning the opening set against Blackhawk Tech by 21 points. Madison College raced out to a 9-1 lead with a pair of Bella Vitaioli aces before the Talons took a timeout. Another ace out of the break made it 10-2. Returning All-Region 4 outside hitter and middle blocker Courtney Gorum made her season debut official with her first kill of 2024 to extend the advantage to 12-3. Amber Horn, a second year from New Glarus, Wisconsin, then rattled off a service run of 12 consecutive points as the Pack claimed 13 of the final 14 points.



Unfortunately, the WolfPack lost their momentum in the second set when an 18-17 lead late turned into a 25-21 setback that included eight hitting errors. A four-point swing midway through set three led BTC to take a timeout down 16-11, and Madison College stepped on the gas from there with a 9-2 closing surge. In the final set, Vitaioli added two mores aces in the first three points. Even at 8-8, the Pack went on a 9-3 run; however, a Talons (0-6) rally closed the gap to 23-21 before the home team won by three.

Madison College finished the match with 41 kills and a .180 attack percentage, as well as an impressive 21 aces and 55 digs.

Spring Grove, Minnesota, native, Addyson McHugh, once again paced the Pack with 11 kills. She also collected a team-best 12 digs for her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career. Freshman MaKayla Weisner was right behind with nine kills. 

Setters Tricia Klum and Brooke Anderson steered a majority of the offense with 21 and 18 assists, respectively.

The rest of the offense came from the service line, led by eight from Vitaioli. She career-best number makes her the second player this season to post eight in a match after MacKenzie Thom did it over the weekend. Horn added a career-best five assists, while four others had two assists. 

Up Next:

Madison College (4-2) is off until Saturday, September 7 when they host their second consecutive triangular against Region 4 opponents, Bryant & Stratton College (1-3) and Highland Community College (5-2). The WolfPack is 8-1 with six straight victories over the in-state rival Bobcats, but trail the all-time series with the Cougars by a 27-17-1 tally despite winning seven of the last eight meetings. First serve is set for 10:00 a.m., followed by matches at noon and 2:00 p.m. All three matches inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium will stream live at MadisonCollege.tv.

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