The No. 1-ranked WolfPack volleyball team faced a challenging three-day road weekend in Illinois, and came home with four more wins and just one loss.

Madison College opened the weekend on Thursday, Sept. 19, with a 4-1 victory over rival Harper College, which is currently ranked No. 6 in NJCAA Division III.

The two teams split the first two sets, with the WolfPack winning the first, 25-14, but losing the second, 25-22. Madison College prevailed by winning the final two sets with identical 25-18 scores.
Brooke Gilbertson led the WolfPack in the match with 15 kills and Hannah Grahn had 29 assists.

With the victory, Madison College remains undefeated in conference play at 6-0.

On Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, the WolfPack competed in the Harper College Invitational. Madison College opened the invitational with a 3-0 victory over Oakton Community College. Katlynn Wirag led the team with nine kills and 13 digs.

In their next match, the WolfPack suffered its third defeat of the season, losing a match to Lincoln Land College, 3-1. Lincoln Land won the first two sets, including a 34-32 marathon game, before Madison won the third set, 25-21. The  WolfPack fell in the fourth set, 25-22. Terissa Bierd led the team with 15 kills and two aces, while Hannah Grahn added 42 assists.

Madison College made up for its loss by beating John A. Logan College, an NJCAA Division I team, 3-1, in its next match. The WolfPack closed out the invitational with a relatively quick, 3-0, victory over Marshalltown Community College, an NJCAA Division II team.

Madison College’s overall record heading into the Sept. 24 match against College of DuPage is now 15-3. The squad’s next home match will be Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. against Western Technical College.