KANKAKEE, Ill. — The Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team pulled off a thrilling comeback Friday at the KCC Triangular, rallying from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Kankakee Community College. After dropping the first two sets (25-27, 15-25), the Stormers surged back to win the next two (27-25, 25-18) and sealed the match with a decisive 15-9 tiebreaker.

Riding that momentum, MATC went on to topple Rock Valley College 3-1 (26-24, 25-9, 15-25, 25-19), capping off a statement day on the court.

The pair of road victories helped the Stormers continue their hot start to the 2025-26 campaign, improving to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 4 play.

"I have to be honest about the Kankakee match — I thought we were about to take our first loss," MATC head coach Shel DeLisle said. "We took a timeout and I told them what we needed to win, and they did it. Coming from behind in the third set as the other team is poised to win … that's tough. But now they know they can do it, and that confidence will come in handy as we approach the tough part of our schedule. Every setback on the court that we overcome sets us up for more success in the future."

Match 1 (Friday):
Milwaukee Area Technical College 3, Kankakee Community College 2 (25-27, 15-25, 27-25, 25-18, 15-9)

After hitting just .195 and .150 in the first two sets, Milwaukee Area Technical College found itself in a 0-2 hole against host Kankakee Community College. The Stormers responded with three straight set wins, capped by a dominant fifth-set tiebreaker in which they hit .615 with nine kills on 13 attempts. Sophomore middle hitter Natalia Farrugia led the Stormers with a career-high 13 kills on a .286 hitting percentage. She added 10 digs, four block assists, one solo block and a service ace.

Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Krueger also reached double-digit kills with 10, along with 16 digs, four block assists and three aces. Freshman setter Grace Adams recorded 15 assists, 17 digs and three kills. Freshman middle hitter Annika Romine contributed nine kills and a team-high seven block assists. Freshman setter Hope Martens finished with 19 assists, nine digs and five aces.

MATC totaled 58 kills on 162 attempts for a .228 hitting percentage. The Stormers also posted 95 digs, 42 assists, 20 block assists and 15 service aces.

Match 2 (Friday):
Milwaukee Area Technical College 3, Rock Valley College 1 (26-24, 25-9, 15-25, 25-19)

Fresh off a five-set comeback win over Kankakee, Milwaukee Area Technical College carried its momentum into the second match of Friday's KCC Triangular, defeating Rock Valley College in four sets.

The Stormers edged Rock Valley 26-24 in a tight opening set, then cruised to a 25-9 win in the second behind a .240 hitting percentage and nine kills. MATC stumbled in the third, committing 10 errors to just six kills and hitting -.121—their lowest mark of the night. But the Stormers bounced back in the fourth, hitting .231 with 13 kills to close out the match 25-19.

Romine led MATC with eight kills on 15 attempts (.467), adding three digs and one solo block. Farrugia contributed nine kills, four block assists, three digs and three service aces.

Martens paced the offense with a team-high 15 assists, two more than fellow setter Adams. Second-year libero Kimberly Busateri anchored the defense with 26 digs and one ace. Sophomore Kayleah Laughlin did most of her damage from the service line, tallying a team-high four aces.

UP NEXT
MATC (9-0) returns to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Rock County College in Janesville, Wisconsin.