CHAMPAIGN, ILL. - On paper, the Madison College women's volleyball team knew they had their hands full at Friday and Saturday's Parkland College Tournament, and in real life, the challenge proved to be exactly that as they went without a win over four matches. The WolfPack, ranked #23 in the latest NJCAA Division II Poll, dropped a rematch with Lincoln Land Community College by a 3-1 score before being swept 3-0 by #5 Heartland Community College, #2 Parkland College, and #6 Kirkwood Community College. During the weekend event, sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Courtney Gorum moved into second place in program history for kills with 624.

Match #1: Lincoln Land Community College 3, #23 Madison College 1 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23)

Exactly one week after earning a thrilling five-set win over Lincoln Land Community College (12-10), Madison College was hoping to make it two straight wins over the Loggers. A 5-0 start by LLCC told a different story, and the Loggers continued to pull away as they led 15-7. The WolfPack did not fold, rallying with an 11-1 run to take an 18-16 lead. Tied at 21-21, Madison College committed four consecutive errors to give LLCC the first set. The Loggers nearly led from start to finish of the second set, with the differential peaking at 22-15. The WolfPack narrowed the gap to 24-23, fending off four set points as Courtney Gorum's kill pulled them within a point; however, the Loggers won the next point to go up two-sets-to-none.

A back-and-forth third set saw the Pack break a 19-19 tie with an ace from freshman Bella Vitaioli. That serve ignited a 6-1 closing stretch that included an ace from Amber Horn, kill by Vitaioli, and two kills by Gorum to close it out and force a fourth set. Yet another competitive set with the Loggers reached a tie score at 23-23 on a LLCC service error; however, Lincoln Land finished out the four-set win with a kill and an ace.

Madison College finished with 41 kills and a .109 attack percentage, highlighted by a 13-kill effort in the second set with a .222 efficiency. 

Gorum had 13 kills and a career-high 23 digs for her fourth consecutive double-double and sixth of the season. Fellow second year Addyson McHugh had ten kills and nine digs.

Setter Brooke Anderson finished with 22 assists and 11 digs to register her fourth straight double-double.

Defensively, freshman libero Cora Webster chased down 25 digs, and first year middle blocker/right side hitter Kate Howe picked up 3.0 blocks.

Lincoln Land Community College boasts a 5-1 lead in the all-time series

Match #2: #5 Heartland Community College 3, #23 Madison College 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-8)

Friday's second match was dominated by Heartland Community College (21-3), who used a 12-1 run in the first set to break open a 13-8 game. Madison College put a better foot forward in the second set as they trailed just 21-19 after a MaKayla Weisner block; however, the WolfPack handed the Eagles the next four points for a 2-0 lead in the match. Heartland flexed more muscled in the third set, storming out to a 9-2 lead before building a 17-point advantage.

Madison College was limited to 19 kills and a .062 hitting percentage in the match, compared to 44 kills and a .500 efficiency by the Eagles. 

Courtney Gorum and Addyson McHugh led the offensive side with seven kills, while Brooke Anderson has a dozen assists.

Cora Webster was tops with nine digs, and Gorum was the only player with multiple blocks. 

The WolfPack is now 1-2 all-time against Heartland CC.

Match #3: #2 Parkland College 3, #23 Madison College 0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-13)

Plans for a better second day were made difficult by the challenge of facing the nation's second-ranked team in their home gymnasium; however, the WolfPack answered the bell early with a 12-8 lead after a consecutive kills from MaKayla Weisner and Courtney Gorum. Unfortuntely, Parkland College (27-2) evened the score at 14-14 as they went on win to the opening set by six. The Cobras steadily pulled away throughout the second set two, and then used a 12-3 start to the third set to take control for back-to-back wins of 25-13.

Madison College amassed 22 kills and a .059 attack percentage, compared to 39 kills and a .315 hitting percentage for Parkland, who also held advantages of 12-4 in aces, 6-3 in blocks, and 55-38 in digs.

Outside/right side hitter Addyson McHugh was tops with nine kills. Brooke Anderson was tops among the three setters used with 14 assists. Courtney Gorum served up two of the team's four aces.

On the defensive side of the net, Cora Webster had eight digs and Amber Horn earned 2.0 blocks.

Madison College is 1-5 all-time opposite the Cobras.

Match #3: #6 Kirkwood Community College 3, #23 Madison College 0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-18)

The final match of the weekend brought the second meeting all-time against Kirkwood Community College (16-5), and the Eagles were able to claim their second win against the WolfPack. The match was very even statistically, except behind the service line, where KCC held a sizable 12-3 advantage in aces. 

The Eagles raced to an 8-2 lead in the opening set and maintained their distance to win by nine. Set two appeared headed to a similar result with KCC taking a 16-10 lead on the heels of a 7-1 run; however, the WolfPack responded with a 6-2 surge to get within two points. A Madison College hitting error gave Kirkwood set point at 24-22, but again the Pack was up to the challenge. Following a KCC error, Courtney Gorum blasted a kill to tie it up at 24-24 before the Eagles used a kill and an ace to win the set. In the third set, the WolfPack overcame an early six-point hole to get within one at 16-15 before Kirkwood Community College closed the match with a 9-3 push.

Madison College was led by Gorum with 11 kills as she leapfrogged three spots on the all-time kills list at Madison College into the number two spot. The Chesapeake, Virginia, native also had 11 digs for her seventh double-double. 

A tandem of setters reached double-figures in assists, with Brooke Anderson, a native of Plain, Wisconsin, recording 16 and freshman Tricia Klum with 11. Anderson also netted a double-double with ten digs.

Libero Cora Webster racked up 14 digs and three players, Kate Howe, Amber Horn, and Bella Vitaioli, all had 2.0 blocks.

Up Next:

Madison College (11-8) was schedule to travel to Bryant & Stratton College (5-10) on Tuesday, October 1 for their second match of the season against the Bobcats; however, the match has been postponed and will likely be rescheduled to a later date. As a result, the WolfPack have added a home match on Thursday, October 3 against Oakton College (10-13). The Owls have never won against Madison College in 11 all-time meetings. First serve is at 6:00 p.m. inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium and can be live streamed at MadisonCollege.tv.

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