MADISON, WISC. - Tuesday night's Region 4 women's volleyball match between in-state rivals Madison College and Milwaukee Area Technical College was the 128th all-time meeting, and quite possibly the first with both teams ranked in the NJCAA Polls. In the end, the 23rd-ranked WolfPack held off a late-charge from the 25th-ranked Stormers for a 3-1, extending their head-to-head win streak to 42 consecutive matches. The 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, and 31-29 victory inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium improves the Madison College lead over MATC-Milwaukee to 96-29-3 since 1977.

The WolfPack trailed 10-7 in the opening set before putting together a 7-1 run to grab a three-point lead. The run included a kill and block by Amber Horn, aces from Brooke Anderson and Bella Vitaioli, and kills terminated by Vitaioli and Courtney Gorum. Following a quick three-point burst by Milwaukee Area Technical College (15-4) to tie the score, the home team regained their three-point edge at 18-15 with a successful tip from Gorum. One last push by the Stormers tied the set at 22-22 and again at 23-23. Vitaioli, a freshman outside/right side hitter from Milton, Wisconsin, closed out the set win with a kill and an ace. Madison College finished the first set with 14 kills, three hitting errors, and a .324 attack percentage.

A back-and-forth second set saw the Stormers break a 16-16 tie with three consecutive points, all coming via errors by the home team. Three points later, first year MaKayla Weisner's kill made it 19-19, and it remained tied at 21-21 following another Horn block and triggering a Milwaukee Tech timeout. A 4-0 closing surge highlighted by Vitaioli kill and a Cora Webster ace gave the Pack a two-sets-to-none lead.



The Stormers made any plans for a three-set sweep a challenge when they rattled off six straight points to take a 12-6 lead. Madison College narrowed the gap to two points on several occasions, including staving off set point on twice and forcing the visitors to take a late timeout. Another WolfPack hitting error gave set three to MATC-Milwaukee and forced the match to a fourth set.

A wild fourth set featuring 13 ties and nine lead changes also required extra points to decide an outcome. The Stormers struck first when a Madison College serving error presented set point #1 at 24-23. A Vitaioli kill evened the score and a MATC error gave the Pack their first look at match point up 25-24. Back-to-back errors by the home team returned set point to Milwaukee Tech ahead 26-25; however, the favor was returned with a hitting error by the visitors to tie the game. Another kill by Gorum pushed the advantage back to match point at 27-26. A series of errors on both sides pinballed the score from set point MATC-Milwaukee on two more occassions, as well as back to a third match point as Vitaioli's final kill of the night made it 30-29. Fittingly, the WolfPack ended the match with a block as sophomore Addyson McHugh denied a Stormers attack to close out the 31-29 thriller.

Madison College finished the match hitting .126 with 49 kills and 30 attack errors. They also added ten aces, 74 digs, and tied a season-high with ten blocks. 

Gorum and Vitaioli were tops with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. The 6'3" Gorum has reached double-digit kills in nine straight matches, while the 5'9" Vitaioli produced her third performance with ten or more kills. Both also registered double-doubles with ten digs each.

Sophomore Brooke Anderson, a Plain, Wisconsin, native who also plays softball for the WolfPack, racked up a career-best 31 assists, to go along with 13 digs for her third double-double of the season. Her four aces led the team and set a new career-high.

Horn, a native of New Glarus, Wisconsin, rejected a season-high five Stormers attacks to key the WolfPack's frontline defense. McHugh and Gorum each had two blocks. And freshman libero Cora Webster finished with 17 digs and two aces.

Up Next:

Madison College (11-4) travels to Champaign, Illinois, on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28 for the Parkland College Tournament. The WolfPack will open with a rematch against Lincoln Land Community College (10-8), who defeated the Pack one week prior in five sets to take a 4-1 lead in the all-time series. That match starts at 2:00 p.m. and will be followed by a 6:00 p.m. first serve against #5-ranked Heartland Community College (16-3). Saturday's action includes an 11:00 a.m. start against #2 Parkland College (23-1) and a 1:00 p.m. game time for #6 Kirkwood Community College (13-5). Madison College is 1-1 all-time against the Hawks, 1-4 opposite the Cobras, and 0-1 when playing the Eagles.

Follow WolfPack volleyball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram