MADISON, Wis. — The No. 23-ranked Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team battled through another hard-fought weekend, finishing 2-2 at the Madison College Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The Stormers entered the event 13-2 and riding a two-match winning streak. They opened Friday with a gritty 3-2 victory (23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-13) over Spoon River College before falling in a five-set tiebreaker to Lincoln Land Community College (23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 14-16) later that day.

On Saturday, MATC dropped a 3-1 decision (16-25, 21-25, 26-24, 8-25) to Illinois Central College before bouncing back to close the tournament with a dramatic 3-2 win (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-25, 19-17) over Waubonsee Community College.

With the tournament split, the Stormers improved to 15-4 overall and 6-2 in Region 4 play.

"It was a long weekend, and losing Allie [Chapman], a starting middle, caused some turmoil," MATC head coach Shel DeLisle said. "Our usual backup middle wasn't present, so we turned to Natalie Farrugia, who's typically an outside. She did a great job, but that left us short at outside and created a domino effect — right sides had to play outside, and we had to use defensive specialists in those roles. That led to us running short on substitutions in several sets.

"The upside was Farrugia played a great match in the middle, and our right side hitters and defensive specialists, Jamie Palmer and Kohral Bomar-Reese, really stepped up," DeLisle added. "It showed us we can scramble a lineup and still compete."

Match #1 (Friday):
MATC 3, Spoon River 2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-13)

After narrowly dropping the first two sets by a combined four points, the Stormers erupted in a pivotal third set, totaling 16 kills on a .438 hitting percentage to spark a comeback. MATC carried that momentum into the fourth set, recording 12 kills against just four errors for a .242 percentage. In the deciding fifth set, the Stormers hit .389 with 10 kills to seal the win.

Freshman outside hitter Kayleah Laughlin posted a double-double, leading the team with 13 kills and adding 10 digs. She also contributed two block assists and one service ace. Sophomore libero Kim Busateri anchored the defense with 33 digs, nine assists and one ace. Freshman setter Hope Martens tallied a double-double of her own with 16 assists and 14 digs.

Sophomores Rachel Krueger and Natalia Farrugia each finished with nine kills, three more than teammates Kendall Revolinski and Annika Romine, who had six apiece.

Match #2 (Friday):
Lincoln Land 3, MATC 2 (23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 14-16)

MATC recorded double-digit kills in each of the first four sets against Lincoln Land, but inconsistent hitting proved costly in a narrow five-set loss. The Stormers hit .189 in the opening set, just .029 in the third, and .160 in the decisive fifth, preventing them from completing a comeback after dropping the first two sets by a combined four points.

Despite the defeat, MATC showed resilience by rallying to win the third and fourth sets, forcing a tiebreaker. The Stormers' balanced attack kept them within striking distance throughout, but the Loggers capitalized on key points late to close out the match.

Laughlin recorded her second straight double-double, setting a career high with 14 kills to go along with 19 digs, five block assists, three aces and one assist. Adams added 25 assists, 11 digs and four aces, while Martens contributed 19 assists and 13 digs.

Farrugia and Krueger each finished with 10 kills.

Match #1 (Saturday):
Illinois Central 3, MATC 1 (16-25, 21-25, 26-24, 8-25)

Illinois Central presented the Stormers with their toughest challenge of the weekend, holding them to a combined .111 hitting percentage over four sets. MATC opened the first set with a .000 percentage, improved to .176 in the second, hit .225 in the third, and finished at -.048 in the fourth.

Krueger continued her strong tournament play by leading the Stormers with nine kills on a .318 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs. Busateri finished with 19 digs and two aces. Laughlin contributed seven kills, seven digs, two solo blocks and one ace, while Farrugia chipped in six kills and two aces.

Match #2 (Saturday):
MATC 3, Waubonsee Community College 2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-25, 19-17)

Outside of the fourth set — when the Stormers were held to a .033 hitting percentage — MATC controlled the match against Waubonsee with an efficient and aggressive attack, posting a .290 percentage or better in the other four sets.

In the opener, the Stormers tallied 13 kills on a .290 percentage, then followed with 15 kills at a .324 clip in the second set. They stayed hot in the third, recording 13 kills on a .344 percentage. In the decisive fifth set, MATC delivered under pressure, producing 12 kills on a .312 percentage to secure the victory.

Krueger set a new career high with 18 kills on a .240 hitting percentage to lead the Stormers. She also contributed 19 digs, one ace and one block assist. Farrugia had a standout performance, hitting .538 with eight kills, four digs, five block assists and three aces. Laughlin added 18 digs, nine kills and three block assists.

Martens tallied a team-high 31 assists to go along with 14 digs. Adams recorded a double-double with 14 assists and 10 digs.

Busateri anchored the Stormers' back row with 19 digs and seven assists, a performance that pushed her past the 1,000-dig milestone for her career. The sophomore libero now stands at 1,005 digs, cementing her place among the program's all-time defensive leaders.

"It feels awesome to reach this milestone at MATC," Busateri said. "I came in as a freshman wanting to make an impact and help my team, and I've worked very hard alongside my teammates and coaches every day. I couldn't have done it without them pushing me to be better and always having my back."

Busateri's milestone didn't go unnoticed by the coaching staff, who praised her consistency, leadership and impact on the program's culture.

"It isn't surprising to me that Kim is setting records," DeLisle said. "She is laser focused on the court and a true and consistent competitor. She's just an amazing combination of determination and talent."

UP NEXT
MATC (15-4) will take some time off before traveling to Sugar Grove, Illinois, to compete in the Region 4 crossover with Illinois Valley, Moraine Valley, Sauk Valley and Joliet Junior College. The Stormers will open play with a 9 a.m. match against Illinois Valley on Friday before wrapping up the day with an 11 a.m. match against Moraine Valley. MATC will resume play Saturday with a 9 a.m. match against Sauk Valley, followed by an 11 a.m. matchup with Joliet to close out the weekend.