FORT DODGE, IOWA - The Madison College women's volleyball battled their way to a 2-2 record, including an upset of a nationally-ranked team, at the always tough Iowa Central Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The WolfPack opened the weekend with an impressive 3-2 win over #17-ranked Neosho County Community College to improve their season-opening win streak to eight straight before taking a 3-1 setback against Highland Community College (KS). Day two of the tournament saw the Pack sweep North Iowa Area Community College by a 3-0 final, and then take #13-ranked Iowa Central Community College to five sets before dropping a 3-2 game.

Match #1 (Friday): Madison College 3, #17 Neosho County Community College 2 (26-24, 21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-7)

Trailing for most of the first set against the Panthers, Madison turned a 19-14 deficit into a set win in extra points with a 12-5 surge that included holding off match point on two occasions. Down the stretch, freshman Ella Vosberg came through with three kills down the stretch, fellow first year Makayla Dallas had two late kills, and Allie Andrews delivered seven assists, one kill, and a block. As a team, the Pack punched home 14 kills with a .212 attack percentage. 

After dropping the second set, the WolfPack put together a solid performance in the third as they took a 9-4 lead and held off NCCC the rest of the way. They finished the third set with a dozen kills. A back-and-forth fourth set was even at 19-19 until three consecutive attack errors by Madison put the Panthers in front, eventually forcing a decisive fifth set. An early 5-0 run in the fifth set started with a Sam Schultz kill and a Cora Webster ace, giving the WolfPack some breathing room, which they maintained all the way to a 15-7 victory.

For the match, Madison registered 57 kills and a .143 efficiency, to go along with 11 aces, seven blocks, and 85 digs. The team's 57 assists are a season-high, while the kills and digs rank second on the year.

Vosberg's team-leading 18 kills marked a new career-best, and came as the result of an impressive .308 percentage on 39 attempts. Dallas, an outside hitter from Valders, Wisconsin, was right behind with a career-best of her own, pounding 17 kills as part of first career double-double with 16 digs. Schultz also had a double-double for the third consecutive match as she amassed ten kills and 15 digs.

Andrews racked up a career-high 55 assists, making her just the fourth player in program history to reach that number. The native of Darlington, Wisconsin, added 12 digs, five blocks, and six kills as part of her first double-double. Avery Agnew was tops defensively with a career-best 23 digs, while Webster also added ten digs. Six different players were credited with an ace, led by sophomore Kate Howe with three, and two each by Dallas, Schultz, and Agnew.

Madison College is 2-0 all-time against Neosho County.

Match #2 (Friday): Highland Community College (KS) 3, Madison College 1 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22)

Friday's late-night finale saw four competitive sets in the first-ever meeting between the WolfPack and Scotties. Madison rallied late in set one from down as much as seven to trailing 23-22, and even held off one match point before HCC closed it out. The second set featured a reversal of fortunes, as the built an early 12-7 lead before Highland rattled off five straight points to tie. Still tied at 19-19, the Scotties claimed six of the final nine points to go up two sets.

The WolfPack broke a 12-all tie in the third set with five consecutive points that included two aces by Allie Andrews. A late push from Highland closed the gap to 21-20 before Madison used a Kate Howe block to regain momentum before freshmen Rowan Harder and Sam Schultz finished off attacks for the win. Hoping for another set win to force a second straight five-set match, the Pack raced out to a 13-5 lead; however, 11 points later it was all square at 14-14. Following another tie at 19s, a series of miscues by Madison led to a 23-19 edge for the Scotties and an eventual match win.

As a team, Madison College produced 46 kills with a .102 hitting efficiency, served up 11 aces, made six blocks, and tracked down a season-high 92 digs. The Scotties made things tough with an impressive 16 blocks and 108 digs.

Makayla Dallas was tops with a dozen kills and hit at a .132 clip, while also finishing with nine digs. Vosberg was also in double-figures with 11 kills and a .167 percentage.

Allie Andrews ended the match with 38 assists, eight digs, three kills, and three aces. Avery Agnew, a Milton, Wisconsin, native, posted a new career-high for the second straight match with 30 digs, to go along with three aces. 

Sam Schultz and Cora Webster each recorded 17 digs, with Schultz adding nine kills.

Match #3 (Saturday): Madison College 3, North Iowa Area Community College 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-9)

Saturday's opener against NIACC resulted in the season's sixth 3-0 sweep. A 9-0 run from down 12-10 in the first set was keyed by three kills from freshman Caylee Coggins and two aces by second year defensive specialist/libero Cora Webster. The second set opened with an 8-1 burst as Ella Vosberg blasted three early kills. The Trojans, however, kept it a close set as they closed to within 12-11 before a Sammi Johnson ace finished off a quick four-point run to regain some breathing room en route to a set win. The third set saw a 9-0 surge that turned an early 4-2 deficit into a lopsided 16-point win.

The Pack averaged 13.3 kills per set and finished with a .305 attack percentage, as well as 13 aces, four blocks, and 46 digs. Makayla Dallas was the lone player to reach double-digits in kills with ten while hitting .333. Coggins, a middle blocker from Columbia, Missouri, and Ella Vosberg were next with eight kills, and Coggins was tops on the squad with a .381 efficiency. 

Allie Andrews added 38 assists, seven digs, and three kills. Webster, a native of Waunakee, Wisconsin, reached ten digs and served up a career-high seven aces. Libero Avery Agnew and Sam Schultz also tracked down ten digs, with Schultz adding seven kills and Agnew a pair of aces. Hazel Allen had three aces.

The win gives the WolfPack a narrow 5-4 lead in the all-time series with NIACC.

Match #4 (Saturday): #13 Iowa Central Community College 3, Madison College 2 (25-16, 27-29, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9)

The final match of the weekend offered another opportunity to take down a ranked opponent, and Madison College nearly pulled it off. A slow start in the opening set led to a 25-16 setback; however, an exciting back-and-forth second set saw the WolfPack earn set point on a Kate Howe block to make it 24-23. The Tritons took the next two points to earn their own set point until a ICCC error and an Allie Andrews kill made it 26-25 in favor of the Pack. It would take five set points before Madison won 29-27 on a block by Makayla Dallas. 

Madison led for most of the third set until ICCC evened the score at 16-16. Trailing late by a 23-22 count, Dallas came through with a kill to tie the score. Another block for Howe set up set point, and an attack error by the Triton put Madison College up two-sets-to-one with a chance for another upset. The host Tritons slowly pulled away throughout the fourth set to force the fifth and decisive, which saw four straight Iowa Central points break a 3-3 tie and the Pack was never able to close the gap.

Madison College tallied 54 kills and a .165 efficiency, eight aces, a season-best 13.0 blocks, and 81 digs. 

Ella Vosberg, a former Cuba City HS athlete, led the charge with a career-high 19 kills and a .255 percentage on 51 attempts. Sam Schultz, a native of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, also hammered home a career-best 14 kills with a team-leading .262 percentage. The defensive specialist/libero also paced the team with 19 digs for her fourth double-double. 

Allie Andrews earned her second double-double with 52 assists, a dozen digs, a team-leading three aces, and five kills for the versatile freshman. Libero Avery Agnew collected 17 digs to extend her season-opening streak of consecutive matches with ten or more digs to 11 straight.

The Tritons boast a 4-2 edge in the all-time series.

Up Next: 

Madison College (9-2) will continue tournament play with the first of two Madison College Tournaments on September 12-13 inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The WolfPack will open on Friday with Lincoln Land Community College (3-7) at noon, followed by a 4:00 p.m. match against Spoon River College (4-9). Madison is 1-5 all-time against the Loggers and 2-0 opposite the Snappers. Saturday's slate includes an 11:00 a.m. showdown with #10-ranked Illinois Central College (7-4) before closing out the weekend against Region 4 foe Waubonsee Community College (5-6). The WolfPack and Cougars have split their previous two meetings, while the Chiefs own a 12-6 advantage in head-to-head match. 

All matches will be streamed live with a dual-court view and no scoreboard via MadisonCollege.tv.

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