MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The No. 23-ranked Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team continued its home dominance Wednesday night with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-14) sweep of Triton College, extending its home winning streak to 16 matches dating to the 2023 season.

The Stormers piled up a season-high 23 aces, keeping the Trojans off balance all night. With the victory, MATC improved to 13-2 overall, 2-0 at home and 5-2 in Region 4 play.

"Obviously we have great serves," MATC head coach Shel DeLisle said. "When our serves are in, we keep the other team out of system. Today we had more aces than misses. We have big hitters, and they all showed up tonight."

In the first set, sophomore transfer Natalia Farrugia served back-to-back aces to spark a 6-1 run and give MATC a 10-1 lead. The Stormers added four more aces and finished with eight kills at a 0.200 attack efficiency to win the opener, 25-16.

After an unforced error opened the second set, MATC answered with six straight points, fueled by Triton miscues and two kills from sophomore outside hitter Rachel Krueger. Although Triton rallied to within one at 7-6, the Stormers countered with a 9-2 run to build a 17-8 lead. An 8-1 Triton surge late cut the deficit to five points, but a costly service error on Triton handed MATC the 25-19 set win. MATC finished set two hitting 8 of 19 attempts for a 0.368 attack efficiency.

Trailing 6-2 in the third, the Stormers immediately responded to DeLisle's  quick timeout with a 13-2 run highlighted by two kills from freshman middle hitter Annika Romine. MATC sustained its edge through runs of eight, six and four points and closed out the sweep, 25-14, with nine kills at a 0.250 efficiency.

"Coach just told us we needed to stay focused during that timeout," Romine said of the team's message in the huddle. "We tend to slow down and lose focus on the court, so she reminded us to lock in and believe in ourselves, and we played really well after that."

The Stormers totaled 25 kills at a 0.265 efficiency, 44 digs, seven blocks and 23 aces. It marked the 12th double-digit ace match this season and set a program single-match high for the 2025-26 season.

Romine led MATC with six kills at a 0.625 efficiency, five aces, two block assists and two digs. Farrugia added five kills at 0.625, seven aces, six digs and a block assist. Libero Kimberly Busateri paced the defense with 14 digs and two aces. Freshman Allison Chapman and sophomore Kendall Revolinski each had three kills. Freshman setter Hope Martens dished a team-high 11 assists, while first-year setter Grace Adams nearly posted a double-double with eight assists and 10 digs.

"It's been a lot of fun to start the season so well," Romine said. "There have been a few roller coaster moments, but we've come together as a team multiple times, and it's great to have a supportive group of girls. I'm excited for what's next."

UP NEXT
MATC (13-2) travels to the Madison College Tournament. The Stormers face Spoon River College at noon Friday and Lincoln Land Community College at 4 p.m., then wrap up Saturday with matches against Waubonsee Community College at 11 a.m. and Illinois Central College at 3 p.m.