MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team picked up its 20th win of the season in dominant fashion Friday, defeating the College of Lake County 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 25-13, 25-18) to remain undefeated at home (3-0) and extend its home winning streak to 16 matches dating back to 2023-24 season.

"The key factor for us is to stay focused throughout the entire match," MATC head coach Shel DeLisle said. "The girls stayed focused and just kept pushing, and they ended up fatiguing the other team — I think both physically and psychologically — with our serving and how hard we hit. We have some great offenses, and we get our offense set up."

The opening set was a back-and-forth battle that featured 13 ties, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. Trailing 22-21 late, sophomore outside hitter Rachel Krueger buried a kill, then followed up with a strong block to force a CLC timeout and give the Stormers a one-point edge. A pair of late errors helped MATC take a 25-24 lead, which became a 26-24 set win after freshman setter Grace Adams scored the final point on a setter dump. As a team, the Stormers finished the first set with a .146 hitting efficiency, recording 12 kills and six errors on 41 attempts.

"Anytime you go over 25 points and you win, that's an important win," DeLisle said of the Set 1 victory. "I would have thought psychologically it would have set us up to win the second set, but I think maybe it lit a fire under CLC to come back hard in Set 2."

Despite jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in Set 2, the Stormers found themselves trailing the rest of the way after the Lancers responded with a 3-0 run to tie it at 3-3. MATC's highlight in the set came when Adams sparked a 3-0 run from the service line, recording three aces to pull the Stormers within 20-18. From that point on, CLC found its rhythm, scoring four of its final five points on kills to seal a two-point victory. MATC's attack was limited in the second set, finishing with a .074 hitting efficiency on nine kills, seven errors and 27 attempts.

The Stormers didn't allow CLC to carry any momentum into Set 3, racing out to a commanding 12-2 lead. The run was highlighted by a pair of blocks from freshman Annika Romine and back-to-back aces from sophomore Natalia Farrugia. With a double-digit lead early, MATC extended its advantage to 15 points before CLC closed the set on an 8-5 run, falling by 12. The Stormers' dominance was evident in their .400 hitting efficiency, with 10 kills and just two errors on 20 attempts.

Similar to the third set, MATC jumped out to a fast start in the fourth and final frame, coasting to a seven-point victory. Multiple kills and back-to-back aces from Krueger gave the Stormers a 7-1 lead and forced a quick CLC timeout. MATC added three more 3-0 runs to maintain control and close out the match. The Stormers hit .357 in Set 4, recording 13 kills and three errors on 28 attempts.

Collectively, the Stormers showed significant improvement at the net, finishing with six solo blocks and six block assists. Freshman middle hitter Annika Romine led the way with three solo blocks and one block assist.

"Obviously, since the beginning of the season, we've improved a lot on our blocking," Romine said. "We've really dialed in during practice and focused on what we need to do to block efficiently. Our coaches tell us where we need to be, and it just works out.

And I think for me personally, I just love to block — it's the best feeling in the world to shut someone down. It's so fun."

Krueger led the Stormers with 10 kills, two solo blocks and 15.5 total points, adding eight digs and three service aces in a dominant all-around effort.

Adams ran the offense with 12 assists and added four service aces and 11 digs, contributing six points from the setter position. Farrugia posted a .417 hitting percentage with six kills on 12 attempts, plus three aces and seven digs for 9.5 points.

Romine added five kills and four total blocks (three solo, one assist), finishing with 8.5 points to help control the net.

Second-year libero Kimberly Busateri anchored the back row with a team-high 19 digs and chipped in six assists and a perfect hitting line (1.000).

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MATC (20-5) will hit the road Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. match against Bryant & Stratton.